


Oy With The Poodles Already

by MiHnn



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-11-14
Updated: 2012-01-28
Packaged: 2017-10-30 04:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 69
Words: 28,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/327574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiHnn/pseuds/MiHnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of 'missing scenes' or snippets from each episode from seasons 1-4. These will work as a slight and gradual development towards the relationship between our favourite fighting step-sibs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Season 1 Episode 1 : In Rooming and other thing

Derek Venturi glared at the wall to his right. He couldn't believe his ears. Was that chick music? Sighing, he moved towards his stereo and increased the volume. His eyes snapped back to the wall when he realized that his opponent had done the same. Straightening his back in preparation for a showdown that he was obviously going to win, he stormed out of his room, and knocked on the door right next to his bedroom. Hard.

The door swung open letting out a stream of bubble gum pop music. He winced.

"Can I help you?" His new step-sister asked sweetly.

His eyes narrowed as he strode confidently into her room. She stared dumbfounded as he grabbed her player and pulled out the plug violently.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" She tried to grab the instrument from him, but he kept it out of her reach.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked her, as if she just asked the most dumbest question in the world.

"Give it back." She tried to grab the player again, but he effectively blocked her. "You have no right to take it."

He laughed humorlessly. "No right? That's rich coming from a charity case, who has invaded my house, and who tried to con me out of my room."

Casey's cheeks flushed with anger. "Charity case? You're the one who's living in a dump. You can keep your room. I'd rather stay in a bio-hazard free environment."

Derek's jaw slammed shut. "Suit yourself." With one last glare, he made his way to the bedroom door. He halted when he felt resistance from the player he was holding, turning around, his eyes met her determined ones.

"You're not leaving with this."

"And you think that you can stop me." His voice betrayed the fact that he was impressed, although slightly.

She hesitated a second before her eyes locked on his. "Yes."

"I'd like to see you try." He saw the flicker of defeat in her eyes before the silence confirmed his suspicions. "I thought so." He pulled roughly, and she let go of the player. He could see her anger, but that didn't bother him. If Edwin's assessment was correct, Casey McDonald was a people pleas-er, and she would not go against her mother's request to avoid a fight with him at all cost.

"I hate you." Her voice was soft, but the seething dislike she felt for him could be heard in each syllable.

If it was anyone else, he would have smirked and walked away. But for her, he thought a parting shot was in order. "We have three more years together, get used to it." Enjoying the glare she focused towards him, he went back to his room. A celebration was in order. Looks like Casey McDonald, even with all her fighting and refusal to give in was just like everyone else in his life, subordinate to him.


	2. Season 1 Episode 2 : In Falling for respect

She knew that everyone was talking about it, how could they not? She had inadvertently embarrassed herself most probably for the rest of her life. For every high school reunion she would be named 'Klutzilla' and it was all thanks to Satan's spawn born of virgin's blood, Derek. Honestly, every time someone says that name a crater should fall to the earth, just to provide the feeling behind the evil his name brings to her mind.

But right now, she was trying to forget all of that. She was depressed with her new label, which was why she was eating something she rarely ate, peanut butter and jelly. As a dancer, she has been trained to eat healthy, she never starved herself, but her body has now gotten used to the high fibre diet and she never really experienced cravings, unless special circumstances occur. Such as being embarrassed on a local scale.

"Woah! What'dya think you're doing?"

Taking a deep breath she faced her arch enemy. "What do you want Derek?"

He was smug, she could see it in his eyes. Walking purposefully toward her, he stopped, grabbed the chair in front of her and moved it to the side, bowing with his hand extended, gesturing to the pathway he had created. "For you Princess. We don't want you to trip over the chair and hurt your own butt for a change."

Maybe the fact that everything blurred except for his figure was a feline thing within her, but the next thing she knew, the peanut butter jelly sandwich accompanied with the flat porcelain plate went flying towards him. He ducked, and the plate smashed against the wall behind him, breaking into a multitude of pieces. The sandwich on the other hand stayed stuck to the wall.

Casey groaned as she thought of the work she would have to do to remove the sticky substance, while Derek, bent into two, laughed insensitively in a way that froze her blood. After several deep breaths, his laughter subsided. To her horror, he turned and screamed into the living room. "Klutzilla's gone Godzilla". He turned back to her, smirk in place. Perhaps he didn't see her hand reach for the butter knife next to her. "Don't forget to clean up, after all, don't you always say we should clean up our own mess?" With a wink, he was gone.

That night, Casey dreamt sweet dreams where the butter knife caused a flurry of sticky red liquid fall against the wall.


	3. Season 1 Episode 3 : In Partying with the people

As soon as the phone rang the second time, it was off the hook and against her ear. "Hi," she whispered. She knew who it was, after all, was she not promised that she would receive this call the moment the caller went home?

"How did it go?"

Turning on the spot, Casey surveyed the rest of the mess that she was yet to clear. "Not that good. Especially since I'm the  _only_  one who's doing any work around here."

"What about Derek? I thought he would be grounded 'til next month."

"Derek? Oh, you mean the person who tricked me into taking all the blame? Yeah, he's probably in his room reading comic books."

"Tricked you? How?"

Casey sighed. Admitting how it all happened was a bit embarrassing, even if the only person she would probably tell this to was her best friend. "When we were stuck in the bathroom, we... talked."

"You talked?" Her friend sounded envious. If she only knew.

"Yeah." Grabbing the garbage bag, she headed towards the kitchen and started cleaning up the counter, while keeping the phone close to her ear. "I really thought that under all of the bravado and school popular jock there was actually a normal human being inside. Someone scared of rejection, and therefore puts on a facade everywhere he goes." She scoffed at the memory. "Serves me right for believing Derek Venturi. It was all a lie to make me feel sorry for him." She picked up a disgusting sock and threw in in the bag. "I'm such an idiot. He's so selfish."

"Come on, Case. Maybe he was telling the truth. You know how guys are, one moment of weakness is perceived as them being weak."

"Well the only part that's weak in Derek is his mind. I have to get back at him for this."

"Wont you get into more trouble?"

Casey scrunched up her face as she found a blob of something undetectable. "He needs to help out. This was all his idea. I was forced into this situation, and I have to clean the mess? The least he can do is take out the garbage." She stilled, a thought materializing in the recesses of her mind. "Actually, I think that's the perfect way to get him to  _help out."_

"What are you thinking?"

"Gotta go, Em. It's time for Derek to clear his half of the mess." Hanging up, she grabbed the garbage bag and headed upstairs. Yup, this was going to be fun.


	4. Season 1 Episode 4 : In Tailing the oppositio

She took his tv! She freaking took his most prized possession. Granted he didn't pay for it and it technically 'belonged to the family' but still, everyone knew that the remote belonged to him, ergo, everyone, including her, would know that the tv belonged to him. And she took it! Without his permission!

"I know what you're doing." He snapped as he folded his arms and stood at the doorway to the kitchen.

"Oh? You know what pouring oneself a glass of water is? Congratulations! You're now eligible to move on to grade 2."

He rolled his eyes. "I know why you wanted Nora to change everything. You want control."

Casey sighed in exasperation. "What?"

"You heard me." Uncrossing his arms, he started walking towards her. "You don't like the fact that I own this house as well as the school, so, you're trying to dethrone me by getting your mom to try to fight for superiority over my Dad."

"Derek, we just cleaned the house."

"No. You made it purple and girly  _and_  you hid the tv."

"We didn't hide it, it's in the basement."

"Whatever, my point is, you were wrong to do this."

"What? You are wrong for not accepting change. Girls live here now, the house should reflect that."

Derek took another step forward, his eyes meeting hers unflinchingly. "Oh yeah? I bet that right now during their 'talk', my Dad is laying down the rules to your mom and she will have no choice but to follow it."

Casey scoffed. "Your Dad does anything to make my mom happy, even if he doesn't like it. I bet that  _my_  mom is laying down the rules, while  _your_  dad promises to follow them."

Scoffing, he held out his hand. "A bet it is then. Loser gets to take their crap out of the living room."

After staring at his hand for a few seconds, she grabbed it and let it go instantly. "Deal."

They went down to the basement to listen to the conversation between their parents. Their siblings followed, each of them curious as to the outcome of their first public fight in front of the children. Needless to say, Derek might not have won the bet per se, but he did win what he wanted when Ms. Righteousness decided that she was wrong and by extension that he was right. He was definitely getting used to being right.


	5. Season 1 Episode 5 : In Grading the commitment

"And.. we're done." Casey mumbled as she closed the book shut. She leaned back and yawned, stretching the muscles that had tensed into knots because of her stiff sitting position at the table.

"We are?" Derek asked sounding petrified. He felt his stomach drop in fear. Surely they haven't covered everything. Surely he was going to flunk the presentation. Surely he was going to fail.

"Um hm." She sounded absent minded as she piled up the books they had been referring for the past few hours.

Derek watched her stand up and in panic, grabbed her arm. She looked down at his hands before facing him. "Maybe we should go through it again."

"We went through it five times, you're fine." Yanking her arm away, she turned and started heading towards the stairs. Before she could place her foot on the first step, he stopped her.

"What about the works? We only went through it twice."

"Derek, we know everything backwards. We're fine."

He stood up and walked towards her. "No, you're fine. I'm still confused about his life's work."

Shaking her head, she started walking up the stairs. "Just go to sleep. A few hours of rest would do you some good."

Sighing, Derek rubbed the back of his neck and went back to sit at the table. "You go ahead. I still have to go through some stuff."

Casey watched as her step-brother opened a book and continued reading, rubbing his eyes to rid the tiredness that had settled upon him. She felt that same tiredness. Her body ached, and her mind felt like it could hold no more coherent thoughts. And if she felt like this, she could just imagine how Derek felt, considering he probably never worked this hard academically before. Sighing, she walked down the stairs and took her place next to him.

He looked at her confused. "I thought you're going to sleep."

"I am." She pulled the book he was reading towards her. "Going through it one more time wont hurt."

He watched her for a few seconds before giving in to his inner mannerisms. "Thanks." He whispered.

She smiled at him. Maybe he was genuinely thankful. "You're welcome." She picked up her short notes. "Lets start from the beginning..."


	6. Season 1 Episode 6 : In the rules of Wedding planning

Looking both ways, Casey pushed open the door and rushed into the room, closing the door quickly behind her. She contemplated turning the lock, but then changed her mind for fear that it would look suspicious. She surveyed the room, her face scrunched in disgust. There was a wonderful invention call the vacuum cleaner, maybe she should drop in some brochures. Obviously he lacked such basic knowledge concerning household appliances.

Walking around the room slowly, she tried to assess where he could be keeping what she was looking for. She checked his desk drawer first, then moved onto his closet. After a few unsuccessful minutes of trying to sort through his pile of clothes, she decided to bend onto her hands and knees and check under his bed. Through the dust and grime, she noticed a box which looked like they had tapes protruding from the top. Grinning to herself, she flattened onto the dirty floor and reached under the bed to grab the box. She leaned in further and further, until her head was under the low bed. Her fingers curled around the cardboard and she yanked it forward. Coming out from under the bed wasn't easy, she coughed and sputtered since her lungs begged for clean purified air. As her head emerged from below, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a pair of shoes, which caused her heart to stop beating for a quick second. Her eyes slowly ran up the figure, who's identity she knew even before her eyes met brown sparkling ones.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Derek smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Casey knew that she must be looking like a sight from the unwashed. Her hair was all over her face, having collected a generous amount of dust from under his bed, and her body which had been flat on the floor, had also worked as a mop of some sort.

Bending down, Derek grabbed the box of tapes from her slackened hands. "You want something, Spacey?"

"I was just.. looking for a tape." She sputtered.

His eyes held something unfamiliar. "Which one?"

Her stomach tightened. He sounded like he knew. "A.. family.. video..."

"The only family video I have is of your aunt's wedding, and I gave that to Nora."

He knew!

Standing up quickly, she made an effort to brush the grime from her clothes. "Oh? Then I better go ask her." She moved around him.

Derek placed the box on the ground before facing her. "You wanted to see the extra scenes didn't you?"

Casey paused, her mind telling her that fleeing would prove him right. "Uh.. no.. why would I?" She was nervous. She held her hands together to stop them from shaking.

Derek looked down at her hands before facing her with a surprisingly intense expression. "If you want the video of me kissing Victoria, you're out of luck. It's for my viewing pleasure only."

"I don't care about that." She snapped.

"Really? Cause it seems like you do."

She scoffed. "Well, if you mean caring about family loyalty, then I guess I do."

"What family loyalty?"

"The kind of family loyalty where you wouldn't kiss my cousin. She hates me, Derek. And you kissed her."

"Blah, blah, blah. And we finally start the younger McDonald generation drama. Me kissing her has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does!"

"How?" He had a feeling that she was making it up as she went along.

"Well, for starters, she's my cousin."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "And?"

"And, if you hate me, you should hate her." She sounded unsure.

"Really?"

"Well, maybe not hate. But you're suppose to be my family, and you kissing her is just like you back stabbed me." She felt the truth in her words.

Derek watched her silently for a second before he advanced on her, his expression passive and set in stone. "We're not family."

Expecting this, she retaliated. "Yeah I know. We are not related and we don't like each other and.."

"No." He cut her off. He stared right into her eyes, his gaze serious. " _We_ , are not related. And what Victoria and I did had nothing to do with you. Don't try to make yourself more special than you are."

She felt her throat close up and her eyes sting at his words. Sometimes he could be very hurtful. "You're right. This is not about Victoria or me. It's about you. It always has to be about you, doesn't it Derek? I can see through your fake 'I'm the king of the world' routine. We  _are_  family. And I  _will_  look out for you, because that's what family does. After all I remember you asking my help once or twice, and I haven't refused you yet. All I'm saying is, family loyalty goes both ways."

He stayed silent, his expression softening somewhat. "Fine. I'll keep family loyalty in mind next time." Even though he said that, she could see that he was still fighting over the issue internally. "But I make no promises."

She let out small smile. "Okay." It made sense. With Derek, none of these things were easy. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Casey started moving towards the door. "I'll go then."

Derek nodded, giving no other sign that their fight was over. With one last look, she left. She needed a shower. But more than that, she needed someone to talk to. The fact that she had a relatively normal conversation with Derek Venturi should be in the record books under things that were never supposed to happen.


	7. Season 1 Episode 7 : In Chickenpox goodness

"You got a cellphone?" Edwin asked, his eyes wide.

Casey grinned. "Yup. Now I never have to worry about being out of touch again." She stood up from the island and went to the refrigerator to pour herself some orange juice.

Edwin picked up the silver instrument and studied it. "I cant believe Dad and Nora gave you one. I thought we're suppose to work and save our own money if we want one."

"It wasn't mom and George." She said distractedly as she hunted for a glass. "Derek gave it to me."

Edwin nearly dropped the phone in surprise. "Derek? As in Derek Venturi? As in my brother who is currently up stairs, Derek Venturi?"

Casey threw her step-brother a confused look. "Yeah, that Derek Venturi. He gave it to me as thank you for helping him out with his business. Why?

"He.. but he.. He never really.. " Edwin stammered. He saw her raise her eyebrows at him and stopped, the shock of her statement disappearing under the need to explain why this was such a big deal. "I've been his brother for years, helped him out in all kinds of stuff, some of which that I'm pretty sure could be illegal. And he has never  _once_ said thank you in any way. Whether by doing something nice, forgetting my debt, paying me back, or simply by saying it. And I'm his  _brother_." He looked at her pointedly, but she just stared at him blankly. "Derek doesn't just give people phones." He said slowly while moving the said instrument back and forth in front of her.

Her eyes widened. "Do you think it's bugged?"

He shrugged. "Could be. Wouldn't put it past him."

"Why do you think he gave it to me?"

"I don't know. But I suggest you figure it out soon before he comes back to collect." Leaving the phone, Edwin hopped off the stool and left the kitchen.

Casey picked up the phone and examined it carefully, hoping that the answer to her question could be seen on the metal cover. Derek Venturi, what are you up to?


	8. Season 1 Episode 8 : In winning the Game.

Derek strutted into his bedroom, a swagger of a walk he rarely used unless he was a victor of a hockey game. Then again this battle was not hockey related. It was over the control of his house, something no hockey game has ever made him put on the line. Still, a victory over Casey McDonald was just as sweet and just as delicious.

"What?" He turned to narrow his eyes at his younger brother who had followed him into his bedroom and taken a seat on his bed. Edwin continued to look at him thoughtfully.

"Maybe you should give them one marble." His brother said casually.

Derek's eyes widened. "You cant be serious."

Edwin shrugged. "They  _did_  play the game well."

"Yeah, but  _we_  won." He didn't understand where he went wrong. When did Edwin develop a compassionate streak?

"But we cheated."

"Ah! But cheating was expected. They cheated too." Surely his brother would understand.

"But Derek, they live here now. One marble wont hurt. Why not give it in the name of sportsmanship? I know you were impressed with how Casey handled everything."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "You going back to your double agent ways Edwin?"

"I'm just saying.."

"Yeah, I know what you're saying. Now I suggest you leave before I throw you out."

Edwin's eyes widened in fear. "Aye! Aye! Cap'n." Scrambling off the bed, he exited the room quickly.

Sighing, Derek sat at his desk chair and studied the marbles. He hated the fact that he couldn't hide that many things from Edwin anymore. He didn't want to admit it, but he did respect his step-sister for putting up a good fight. Not many girls their age would have acted the way she did. But admiration or not, he was determined not to show any weakness towards her. He had already let his guard down several times, something that he promised himself he would not do in order to maintain his role as the alpha male of the house. She wasn't supposed to see his vulnerable side, and he was going to do everything he can to keep it that way.


	9. Season 1 Episode 9 : In controlling the Monster

Taking off his jacket, Derek turned to the girl he was with. "Could you give me a sec? I just gotta go check on Marti."

She beamed at him. "Sure. You really are a good big brother."

He smirked. "I try to be." Rushing up the stairs he headed to his little sister's bedroom. Opening the door slightly he observed her empty bed. Scrunching his face in confusion he then made his way to his step-sister's room. Maybe she was with Casey. He opened the door and softly made his way to the foot of her bed. There they were, his perfect princess and the whiny princess, sleeping soundly after wearing him out that day. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was smiling at the scene before him. Shaking his head to rid this sudden bout of.. affection he seemed to be experiencing, especially since it wasn't only for the younger Venturi, his eyes swept his step-sister's room. Noticing the neatly piled homework they were suppose to turn in, he picked it up, and made his way back to the door. Smirking once more into the semi-darkness, he left. Surely him changing the name of the assignments and taking credit was way better than putting toothpaste on her face. On second thought... He made a beeline for the bathroom and picked up her toothpaste that he was banned from touching. He did like the way she screeched his name. Sandra would have to wait a few minutes. Casey was going to wake up with a little white surprise, and he was sure that Marti would love it too.


	10. Season 1 Episode 10 : In Sweetening the deal

"Ow! Could you move?"

"You move."

" _You_  move."

"Uh! This is not working."

"You think? Way to go Smarty McPants. Would you like a cookie for your guess?"

"Shut up, Derek! This is all your fault."

"How is this  _my_  fault?"

"If you hadn't made me run around and get you things, I could have kept the tickets away from your sister."

"And if you hadn't kept the tickets out in the open, Marti would have never gotten them. Face it  _step-sis_ , you shouldn't have pretended to be injured in the first place."

A knock on the garage door startled them.

"You two okay in there? I don't hear a lot of boxes being moved."

"Come on, Dad! I'm sure you're violating child labour laws here."

"You know about child labour laws?"

"Edwin." He shrugged. "Can I come out now? Let Casey do this. She's the organized one."

She strategically aimed, and hit him on the head with a beach ball. Derek, in retaliation grabbed the dirty sheets they've covered boxes with and tossed it on her. "Ew! You're so disgusting."

Another knock. "Remember, you have to finish this before dinner." They heard the footsteps fade away.

Derek sighed turning back to the pile of boxes before him. As he reached for one, he was suddenly doused from head to toe in dust. Sputtering and wheezing in surprise, he turned to see Casey laughing heartily holding an empty vacuum cleaner bag. "That is  _it._ " He growled charging after her.

"No! Derek! It was a mistake." She screeched running away from him. She maneuvered around the piles of boxes, trying to make it to the garage door. But he was too quick for her. As she finally saw an opening, he tackled her from behind, his arms tightening around her waist. "De-rek! Let me go." She squirmed in his arms, which only caused the dust on him to move onto her. Knowing there was still some on his hair, he bent his head and rubbed his dusty hair against the back of her neck, causing her to break out in a fit of giggles. "Stop! De-rek!"

Casey's giggles faded and he stiffened as he suddenly realized that not only were they pressed tightly together, but he was breathing heavily right against her neck. Such positions.. were not expected from newly joined step-siblings. Letting her go instantly, he took a few steps back. Casey turned to face him, but kept her eyes low. "I'll go ask George if we can take a break for lunch." He nodded, his throat tightening on it's own volition. After watching her leave, he made his way into the house. He needed a shower, a very cold shower.


	11. Season 1 Episode 11 : In Raiding the feminists

"I don't see why you boys hold no value to a girl's intelligence, and only value her chest." Casey mumbled as she watched her brother barbarically pull open the refrigerator door and drink orange juice from the carton.

Derek gulped loudly before shrugging at her. "The butt is good too."

"Ugh! I also don't get how you get dates with such chauvinistic attitudes."

"Women like a man who's in control. And I'm always in control." He smirked smugly.

"Let me guess. Your perfect woman includes boobs, butt and no brain."

"How did you guess, Case? Was I that obvious?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know, someday you'll meet someone who will put you in your place. And I'll be buying front row seats to that show."

"You really think that I would lose control to a girl?" He raised his eyebrows mockingly.

"Yes, I do. Everyone ultimately does. Mark my words, Venturi. There is a girl out there, who you would jump through hoops of fire just to keep. And, she will be smarter than you."

He let out a light chuckle. "We'll see."

"Yeah, we will." She said confidently as she walked out of the kitchen. She didn't hear Derek mutter 'stupid feminists' under his breath, or see him watching her as she left, a sparkle of humour in his eyes.


	12. Season 1 Episode 12 : In proofing the System

"Where's your date?"

Derek glared at his step-sister before sitting on his chair. "Dropped her home. Books are not really my thing."

"What were you thinking asking a girl who reads books out on a date? What could you have possibly talked about?"

"I was thinking, we wouldn't be doing much talking in the first place." He smirked as Casey scrunched up her face in disgust. "Oh yeah. I forgot. You're a nun."

"I am  _not_  a nun." Casey snapped.

"Sure. So, how many dates have you gone on since you moved here?"

"I'm just.. getting my bearings.. and.. I just wanted to make sure that.. who I go out with is a.."

"Mormon?"

"No." She snapped. "The guy I go out with has to have depth, be nice, cute and a gentleman. In other words, the opposite of  _you_."

"I would be hurt if you just didn't describe a loser." Derek scoffed.

"Sam is  _not_  a loser." Casey faltered. "I mean.."

"Sam? As in my Sam? You still having that little crush? Good luck getting him."

"I don't have a crush on him, Derek." Casey huffed as she crossed her arms and glared at the tv.

"Good. Keep it that way." He mumbled before grabbing the remote from her lap.


	13. Season 1 Episode 13 : In figuring out the Code

Maybe it was the fact that she was his step-sister, and he was having a normal brotherly reaction. Nah! That can't be it. He never looked at her as a sister, more like an unwanted house guest. He could see them seated at the dinner table from his position near the kitchen counter. Casey demurely laughing at his best friend's jokes, while the said best friend had a goofy grin across his face. It just reminded him exactly why he finally gave permission for this. He wanted Sam to be happy. He was his best friend after all. Then why did his stomach clench uncomfortably every time Sam's hand brushed Casey's? Why did his breath hitch in dread every time they leaned towards each other? Why couldn't Sam just follow the male code?

"I heard what you did."

Derek's eyes snapped to find Nora standing next to him, observing the couple. "What?"

"I'm sure Sam and Casey are happy that they have your blessing. It's not easy being in your position. Having to choose sides if they ever break up."

Derek continued to stare as Casey lightly tapped Sam's foot under the table. "You mean  _when_  they break up." He said it softly, more to himself.

Nora looked at her step-son in confusion as he watched the couple. "You expect them to end it?"

"They wont last too long. Casey is.. well.. Casey. And Sam can't handle her." He turned to grin at his step-mother, his previous sour mood lifted. "And I've already made up my mind who's side I'm going to take." Popping a cookie into his mouth, he nodded to Nora and headed towards the dinner table. He didn't know why he was so worried before. They'll never last. He was sure of it.


	14. Season 2 Episode 1 : In Dating the best friend

"Can I ask you something?"

Casey turned to face her boyfriend, her grin widening at another gentlemanly quality Sam seemed to possess. "Sure. Anything."

He hesitated, his hand squeezing hers in reassurance. "Why were you so on edge about the whole Emily and Derek thing?"

She faltered, stalling them both. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, he stopped and turned towards her. "I mean. What's the big deal?"

Her eyes widened. "What's the big deal? He didn't even like her, Sam. He only asked her out to get back at me."

"And that's all it was?"

"Yeah, that's all it is. What did you think it was about?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I thought you just didn't like the thought of your best friend and Derek together."

Casey's gaze dropped nervously. "Well, yeah. That was one of the factors I guess. It's just that, we all know him, I didn't want to see her hurt."

"So then if they actually liked each other, you wouldn't mind?"

She had to stop herself from bursting out into laughter. "The two of them? Together?" Her grin fell when Sam looked at her pointedly. "Of course not. I would be happy for them." Sam raised his eyebrows at her. "I would!" She protested.

"Okay then." Grabbing her hand he had previously let go, he started walking, pulling Casey alongside him.

They continued walking in silence until Casey suddenly halted again. "What did you mean by 'if they actually liked each other'?"

Sam shrugged again. "I don't know. I thought it'd be pretty cool. We could double date together." He turned to start walking, but Casey stayed put.

"But.. Derek doesn't like Emily, does he?"

"I don't know. She's a girl. By definition, she's his type." Sam laughed.

"But.."

"Casey, relax. I was just joking. I hereby promise that Derek hasn't mentioned Emily in a romantic way." He nudged her lightly. "Okay?"

She nodded, her eyes glazed over due to the disturbing and distracting thoughts swirling in her head. "Okay." She whispered.

Grinning, Sam grabbed her more tightly and pulled her with him. "Boy, you guys really do hate each other."


	15. Season 2 Episode 2 : In Scoring the goal

"You got that?" Derek questioned as he easily slid around his step-sister and moved to the opposite side of the rink.

"Yeah. I think so." Lizzie called after him nervously.

"Good. Then come at me." He crouched down in preparation.

Lizzie's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come at me."

"But I just learned how to stop."

"I know. I was there." He gestured for her to come forward.

"But.."

"Lizzie! Do we need to have the Venturi's aren't quitters speech again?"

His step-sister's eyes narrowed in concentration. "No. But if I hit you.."

"I'll blame Casey." He finished smoothly. "Now, come on. I don't have all day."

With a quick breath to rid her nervousness, Lizzie set off. She skated effortlessly towards her elder step-brother. As she neared him, she twisted her ankles, just like she was taught. Nothing happened, she continued to go towards him. Closing her eyes in panic, she twisted more violently and came to a screeching stop just an inch in front of him. Derek removed her helmet, his wide grin contagious. "I did it!" She screeched as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

Derek teetered dangerously before he found his footing. "Knew you had it in you. Now if we could only teach your sister some class.."

"Thank you." Lizzie beamed letting him go. "I never thought I could do it."

"Yeah well. Unlike Casey, you're not Klutzy. You could be a Venturi legacy as yet."

They moved towards the exit of the rink, this time, Lizzie independently skating without the help of her step-brother. "I can't wait to tell everyone that I finally learned how to stop." She said excitedly as she removed the protective padding Derek had lent her.

"Yeah. Especially Casey." He smirked his face sporting a faraway look. "Just imagine her face when I prove that once again, I'm better than her."

Lizzie rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the outside world. Who knew that Derek Venturi couldn't go two minutes without mentioning her sister?


	16. Season 2 Episode 3 : In being in the Middle

"That was a dirty trick you pulled." Derek mumbled as he stormed into the kitchen after not being able to sort things out with Emily.

Casey smiled mischievously as the rest of the family looked on, confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Casey pulled a dirty trick?" Edwin questioned as he took his seat at the counter.

"Oh yeah." Derek moved his arms elaborately. "A sneaky, mean... sneaky trick."

"And what trick is this?" Nora asked distractedly. To her, preparing dinner was more pressing.

"She and Sam pretended that he was going to quit the hockey team. The  _hockey team!_  Who does that?"

"In my defence.." Casey said calmly. "It was just to teach Derek a lesson for trying to meddle in our relationship for his own Swedish gain."

Nora eyed her step-son warily. "That makes perfect sense."

Derek smiled sheepishly. "I was only thinking of Sam and Casey." At the scoffs around the room, his eyes widened in innocence. "I was." He ignored it when they gave each other knowing looks. "It doesn't matter. At least these two.." He gestured to his step-sister. "Love birds are back together. Sweden, here we come." He grinned.

Everyone else looked expectantly at Casey. It was a well known fact that she always wanted the chance to burst his bubble. Avoiding everyone's gaze, she smoothly stepped off her stool and walked around the family until she stood behind Derek who was leaning forward against the counter. Reaching around him for a carrot stick her mother had placed in the middle, she leaned slightly against him until her lips were achingly close to his ear. "Actually, we broke up." She whispered smugly as she snatched the vegetable from the bowl and quickly made her way out of the kitchen. She couldn't help but add a bounce to her step. He had stiffened the moment she had whispered those words against his skin.

Grinning widely, she took a bite out of the carrot. Goodbye, Sweden!


	17. Season 2 Episode 4 : In paying for the Candidate

Casey squeaked as she snapped back in fear. "What.. was that?"

Derek looked mildly amused as he looked down at her from his bed. "I don't know. Did it move?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. What sort of a question is that?

"If it moved." He continued. "It's probably my pet Gerbil I lost in the fifth grade." Grinning at her disgusted features he turned back to his comic.

"Me alone is  _not_  going to do anything. You need an exterminator."

"Ah! But you alone is the only one responsible for my Grade one story to be all over the school. So, you alone are responsible to make this bedroom livable again."

Her eyes narrowed. "This is way worse than what I did."

Derek cupped his hand over his ear. "Wait. Do I hear someone  _not_  working?" He looked expectantly around the room.

"Fine." Casey snapped. "I will do as you ask, just this once. Since I feel...kinda.. sorta.. guilty. But  _only_  this once." She sighed as she bent down again to look under his bed.

"One more thing." Derek said gaining her attention. "Before you start, don't forget to wear the French Maid outfit in my closet."

Casey screeched as she threw the cloth in her hand right at his face before storming out of his bedroom in anger. Derek watched her leave, a smirk adorned on his face. Shrugging, he went back to his comic. At least he tried.


	18. Season 2 Episode 5 : In Battling for power

Paul spit out the water in surprise as his office door was unceremoniously thrown open.

"So, this is the deal." Derek said smoothly as he sat down on the couch. "I need you to tell Miss Spaz that she needs to play  _my_  music since she's singing in  _my_  band." He looked expectantly at the guidance counsellor who was still coughing and sputtering. "You okay?"

Paul let out a final breath to unclog his throat. "Yeah. Fine. Why do you want  _me_  to tell her?"

"Because she listens to you." Derek said in an obvious manner.

"Uh huh. So then, how do you feel about her singing in your band?"

Derek looked to the man behind the desk thoughtfully. "If I tell you how I really feel, will you tell her to stop this whole 'love-me-I'm-a-hippi' sort of music?"

Paul let out a knowing laugh. "I'll tell you what, if you tell me how you really feel, I'll make sure that she does what she thinks is right."

Derek looked at him skeptically for a moment. "Fine. I think that it sucks that she's trying to take over my rock band and turn it into a girly/feel good band."

"And why does it 'suck'?"

"Because.. it's a rock band..?"

"And you think she's compromising your musical integrity?"

"Uh.. Duh!"

"I see." Paul smiled. "I think you need to talk to her. Explain your view on the whole thing. You'll be surprised at how much she'll respect you for it."

Derek stayed silent for about two seconds before he erupted in laughter. Paul however, thought it prudent to ignore this defence mechanism.

"All I'm saying is, the fact that the two of you are in a band together means that you are allies. Working together brings forth a lot of respect for your colleagues, or in your case, your band mates. In other words, you two are on your way to being.. well.. friends."

Derek eyed him as if he had lost his mind. "You know what? Forget it!" He stood up and headed for the door. He turned to face Paul one last time as he opened the door. "And by the way, Casey and I will never, ever,  _ever_  become friends." With that last parting shot, he slammed the door shut behind him.

Paul smiled knowingly at the empty room. The first step to anything is denial.


	19. Season 2 Episode 6 : In Lying to get ahead

Casey rolled her eyes in frustration before she poked Derek again. Groaning, he snuggled back into bed, pulling the comforter over his head. With one strong pull, she yanked it away from him and dropped it on the ground.

"Casey!" He snapped. "What's the deal?"

"Derek!" She snapped back. "You promised to glue the project once I'm done placing it."

He cocked one eye open. "You sure?"

She bent her head forward until her nose was nearly touching his. "I'm positive."

Groaning again, he grabbed the pillow from under him and put it over his head. "Why don't  _you_  do it? You're already up." His voice was muffled but she could make out the words clearly.

Casey sighed. She was tired, annoyed and sleep deprived. This wasn't helping. In a huff, she marched into the bathroom and without a second thought, emptied the large bowl of potpourri, filled it with water, marched back to her step-brother's bedroom and dumped it on his now exposed head. Derek snapped awake as he quickly sat up in bed completely doused in water.

"Wha.. Huh?.. Wha.." He glared at Casey who simply looked down at him expectantly. " _What_ the hell?"

"I told you it was your turn."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..  _yeah?"_

She was going to stand her ground. " _Yeah."_

Within seconds, he got off his bed, grabbed her and deposited her unceremoniously on top of his shoulder as he headed to the bathroom. Casey punched him hard against his back, feeling panicked at the prospect of not being able to shriek to the high heavens since it was well past midnight. "It's your turn McDonald." He entered the shower area and grabbed the nozzle. Just as he placed her down, he blasted the water at her with full force. Casey yelped as she tried to grab the nozzle away from him. They struggled against each other, water flying everywhere. Finally, he pinned her against the wall, his breathing as laboured as hers. Casey tried hard not to concentrate on the fact that her clothes felt like an unwelcome second skin, and that his body heat could be felt strongly against the her own. The cold water wasn't helping. They stood like that for sometime. Neither moving their gaze for fear of losing this match they had gotten themselves into.

After his breathing returned to normal, Derek smirked. "Next time, I'm not going to be so nice." Pushing himself away from her, he ran his fingers through his hair, now slicked wet. "G'night Princess." With that final parting shot, he left.

Casey cursed herself as well as him. She would have said something witty and insulting if she had not been distracted by how her body heated up while they were in that..unique position. Damn Derek and his male tendencies!


	20. Season 2 Episode 7 : In helping to Crush the Coach.

By the time he went back to his bedroom Derek was grinning like an idiot, and he didn't care. He managed to out Snot, get rid of his guilt, and as a result be able to sleep blissfully and worry free again. And to top it all off, he had a date for next weekend.

"You really are something Derek Venturi."

Derek turned around to face the one person capable of blowing his bubble. "It took you this long to notice?"

He insulted her intelligence, therefore what she was suppose to do is insult him back. Instead, she smiled at him, rather fondly. "You cared about me enough to make sure I wasn't cheated on. For that.. I think I can take your insults for one day."

"Really?" He grinned smugly as he turned towards his CD collection. His hands automatically reaching out for his favourite band for this victorious event. "Then I guess you wont mind me saying that I think that not only are you a prissy princess who thinks she's better than everyone, but you're also a mentally challenged klutz who is never going to be.." He stopped, stiffening. "What are you doing?" He croaked.

Casey smiled into his back, her arms tightening around him. "Hugging you."

He gulped. "This is a violation..."

"Shut up and enjoy it, Derek." She ordered. It just wasn't right being able to feel the words being formed against his shoulder.

"Enjoy it?" He let go of the CD and grabbed her arms with his, making a feeble attempt at freeing himself.

"Yes. Enjoy it." She tightened her arms further as she felt him tug against her. "This is probably the last time I'll ever be nice to you." She finally let him go, and Derek felt he could breath again.

As she exited his bedroom he called to her. When she paused at the doorway, he smirked. "Next time you really want to touch me, don't. I don't swing the 'nerd-way'."

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't worry,  _Derek._  The next time I touch you, it will be with a broom stick." Tossing her hair across her shoulder she strutted out. Derek watched her, his mind holding only one thought. He should  _never_  be nice to her again. Ever.


	21. Season 2 Episode 8 : In Pranking the Venturi

"Wassup Sam?" Derek nodded casually as he opened his locker.

Sam looked over his best friend's shoulder to observe the scene behind him. "Pranking Casey again?"

Derek smirked. "However did you know?"

"You better watch your back. She'll get back at you someday."

Derek scoffed. "Please. She doesn't have the guts. And.. she's way too gullible."

"I don't know.." Sam muttered as he watched his ex-girlfriend as she spoke to Emily. His eyes narrowed as he noticed something...odd. "Why is Casey wearing your t-shirt?"

Derek shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Don't Nora's clothes fit her?" Sam asked thoughtfully.

Derek stilled in the middle of replacing his books. Realizing that Sam was right, he turned to observe his step-sister. "Yeah. They do."

"Oh well." Sam shrugged. "Let's get to class then." He started walking down the hall.

Derek stood transfixed by the thought of Casey wearing his shirt. His orangutan t-shirt that would be stretched around the more... feminine area. He snapped himself out of it as he realized that he had been staring at her chest, his mind swimming in weird thoughts. Shutting his locker he followed Sam. Trying to understand Casey McDonald was like trying to understand the reason for famine.


	22. Season 2 Episode 9 : In calming the Freak Out

"So? What do you think?"

Emily sighed. "Casey! I saw that routine like a hundred times."

Casey's expectant smile fell. "Has it gotten worse?"

"What? No!" Emily cried panicked. She did  _not_  want her best friend to show her how it could get better. "What I meant was, it's flawless. You need to take a break. Now. A long,  _long_ break."

Casey beamed. "Oh! Well, I guess I should.." Emily sighed in relief. "But.." She stiffened. "There's no harm in practicing once more is there?"

Emily took a deep breath to stop herself from pulling her hair out. Getting off the couch she grabbed her best friend's arm. "How about we go to the kitchen and get something to eat?"

"But.." Casey faulted under her friend's glare. "Okay."

Emily led them to the kitchen and took a seat at the counter. She was about to enjoy the next ten dance-less minutes when she realized that Casey was marking her moves as she reached into the cabinet to get the glasses. "Casey!"

Casey whipped around quickly. "What?"

"Take a seat." She tapped the counter next to her.

Casey looked at her sceptically. "Okay." She moved reluctantly, taking the seat Emily offered her.

"I'm telling you this because I care. You need to calm yourself down and stop freaking out.."

"But Em.."

"Wait. I'm not done." She took Casey's hand in both of her own. "You need to relax. Have you tried a nice soothing bubble bath?"

"Yeah."

"What about a good book?"

Casey nodded sadly. "I have."

"A serene movie?"

"Watched one."

"Vicodin?"

"Emily!"

"Sorry. It's just.. the only thing I can think of is..." She paused, a thought suddenly striking her.

"What?" Casey asked feeling curious.

"Anna mentioned something interesting a few days ago."

"Oh?"

"Her boyfriend Jason gets really nervous just before any football game, so.. to de-stress.. they.." She moved her eyebrows suggestively.

Casey's face scrunched up in confusion. "They what?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "They have sex."

"Emily!"

Emily giggled. "All I'm saying is, if you had someone who could.. de-stress you and give you pleasure at the same time..."

" _Emily!_ " Casey hissed scandalized. "I'm not going to have sex to de-stress."

"Where's the last of the chocolate cookies?" Edwin called out as he ran into the kitchen.

Casey pointed to the counter while Emily looked on intrigued. With impressive speed, Edwin grabbed the cookies and bolted.

"What was that about?" Emily asked watching him leave.

"Derek's game is at the same time as my recital. Apparently he's freaking out too." Casey paused to look at her friend who had a evil gleam in her eye. "What?"

"Maybe.." Emily started cautiously. "You and Derek could help de-stress each other." She grinned as Casey flushed bright red.

"Me and.. and.. and  _Derek?_  Ew! He's so.. so.. "

Emily let out a laugh. "I'm kidding, Case." She glanced at her wrist watch, already knowing what time it was. "Anyways, gotta go. See you tomorrow?"

She stepped off the stool, and with a quick wave she left. Casey hardly noticed. She felt herself burn up, and it was due to something far more disturbing than a fever. She just pictured Derek and her.. she and Derek.. and they were in her minds eye.. they were.. She felt herself flush further. Why did she think that if they ever had sex it would be angry, rough, and insanely hot?


	23. Season 2 Episode 10 : In Betting with the enemy

Derek held onto the staircase tightly. This was wrong. She wasn't supposed to go all punk. She wasn't supposed to become insanely adaptable. She wasn't supposed to win. He cursed under his breath. She was going to win unless he did something. Trevor was actually talking to her.

"What do they have so much to talk about anyway?" His frustration was evident in his tone.

Emily shrugged beside him. "You know Casey, she's pretty good at talking to people when she's determined."

"Yeah, I know Casey. And  _that_  is not Casey." He had to not panic.

"I don't know, Derek. They seem to be hitting it off."

They were laughing! What was so funny? He's a punk! By definition they're gloomy creatures. Derek groaned as he witnessed Casey touching Trevor's arm. Seriously? The 'I-like-you-move'? Emily looked at him sympathetically.

"Maybe you should stop underestimating her."

"Yeah, well.. maybe you should stop dressing her like a freak. Look at what she's wearing. No guy in his right mind would want to go out with someone wearing  _that._ "

Emily chuckled. "Really? 'Cause from up here, I can see a few guys actually considering it."

Derek looked at her briefly in surprise before he finally noticed the students around his step-sister and the punk rocker. He noticed a few guys giving her more than a few cursory glances. One idiot had the audacity to roam his eyes up her legs. Derek's grip tightened so hard his knucles turned white. "There's no way he's asking her out. There is  _no way._ " Without a further glance at anyone, he left. He couldn't bear to watch that poor excuse of a circus any longer. One thing he can always count on is Casey's preppy self to materialize again. Trevor wont go out with her. He was sure of it.


	24. Season 2 Episode 11 : In maturing the Men

Casey couldn't believe it. Derek really liked Kendra. He actually truly liked her. And not in a 'you're a hot babe' kind of way, but a 'I think I might be crazy for you' kind of way. She should be happy right? He was maturing. Sort of. And he was looking at girls as more than entertainment peices. Again.. sort of. She  _should_  be happy. Ecstatic. over the moon even. So then, why wasn't she?

Casey paced around her room in agitation. He changed his look for her. The way he behaved. While when it came to his step-sister, he always increased his childishness ten fold. It was so unfair. How could he change for  _her_ , when  _she_  had been trying to change him from day one? She stopped in front of the mirror and sighed. Fine! She admitted it. She was jealous of Kendra. Actually, she was jealous of the spell Kendra had him under. What  _wouldn't_  she give just to taste that kind of power?

And now, there was another issue. Kendra liked Derek. Derek liked Kendra. And in her aim to change her step-brother she had stopped two people from getting together. Even though her brain told her it wasn't a good match anyway. Two immature people should not be in a relationship together. It's too destructive. But still, even with her mind protesting, she had called Kendra and asked her to come to her place to study. Derek would be back from hockey by that time and they would realize how insanely they liked each other and her guilt would vanish.

Casey picked up her phone and stared at it. On the other hand she could cancel that plan and go over to Kendra's instead. They would never know.

Biting her lower lip in nervousness, she started dialing the number. She should do this. They weren't right for each other. Her finger froze over the last digit. But then again, even if they didn't know, she would know. And her conscience didn't like what she was doing. She looked at the the clock on her bedside table. Kendra is due in ten minutes, and she had been contemplating cancelling the study date for the past half an hour. Her hand tightened around the phone. What should she do?

"Casey?" Lizzie called as she appeared at her doorway. "Kendra's here."

"Thanks Liz. Will be down in a minute." Sighing, she put down her phone and left to greet their guest. Looks like the universe has already decided for her.


	25. Season 2 Episode 12 : In Dining to please

"Knock, knock."

Derek looked up from his comic book to face the man at his bedroom door. "Oh! Hey! I see you came back."

Dennis chuckled as he walked in. "Yeah. Especially since someone convinced me that I should. I hope you don't mind. Went to say goodbye to Lizzie, and I saw your door open."

Derek got off his bed to stand next to Nora's ex. "Yeah, no problem."

"Er.. Listen, Derek. I just wanted to say thank you for.. telling me the truth. I know I have a habit of not being in tune with others, especially my family. It's good to know that there's someone looking out for them."

Derek chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm not really into that whole.. looking out for them thing. I just thought that you should know." He shrugged casually.

Dennis gave him a warning look. "Casey knows."

"What?" Derek groaned. "Now how am I going to live this down?"

Letting out a light laugh, Dennis squeezed Derek's shoulder in sympathy. "I don't know. But thank you, again. And I wasn't kidding about New York. If you're ever dropping by, give me a call."

Derek nodded. "Yeah I will."

Dennis moved away awkwardly. "I better go say good bye to my girl."

"Yeah."

They looked at each other silently, then, with a quick nod, Dennis left.

Derek sighed as he sat back on his bed. So much family drama.


	26. Season 2 Episode 13 : In finding a Date

A phone was ringing, and it wasn't his. So.. it has to be ignored. Unfortunately, Kendra moved away from him reaching blindly into her handbag. Derek groaned.

"Leave it."

"It might be something important." She said slyly as she pushed his hands away from her and flipped open her phone. "Hello?..Uh huh.." She rolled her eyes as Derek started to silently mimic her. "Oh?... Uh huh..." He reached under her top, and she pushed him away, sticking her tongue out at him. "Oh really?.. Hm.. that's interesting.." Derek started kissing his way down her neck, and Kendra thought it was the best time to say good bye. She was too distracted to continue such a juicy conversation. "That's awesome. We really need to go through the details at school. Talk to you later Casey.. " Derek stiffened against her, his head rising to look at her quizzically. "Okay..Bye.." Kendra hung up the phone and looked at her boyfriend. "What?"

"That was Casey on the phone?"

"Yup." Kendra said smugly. "Looks like our little matchmaking endeavour worked." She moved her arms around his shoulders, but was extremely disappointed when Derek straightened up and away from her.

"It did?"

"She met a boy" She sing song-ed as she leaned towards him. "And apparently he's cute, funny.. and hot." She was beaming.

"But.. er.. I thought you set her up with freaks." Derek mumbled confused as he subconsciously moved away from her again.

"Yes, I did. Thanks to you." She shook her head in annoyance. "But luckily because of your party, she met someone new." Grinning, she put her arms around him again and started nuzzling against his neck. But Derek stayed rigidly stubborn.

"My party.." He said softly, more to himself.

Rolling her eyes she glared at him. "Hello! Your girlfriend trying to make out with you here."

Derek shook his head before focusing on her. "What? Yeah. I knew that." He smiled sheepishly.

"Okay then. Kiss me Derek Venturi." Kendra grinned as she closed her eyes and leaned towards him.

After a moment of hesitation, Derek placed his lips on hers. Deepening the kiss after a few seconds. The thing was, his mind was otherwise occupied, and he didn't like it.


	27. Season 3 Episode 1 : In Two-Timing the twerp

"Anything new?" Casey asked as soon as they turned the corner.

"Well, last time I checked, Kendra is still hanging out with Andre." Emily mumbled as she looked through her journal. "My source told me they split an apple during lunch." Closing the book she eyed her friend. "Are you going to tell Derek?"

"I have wrestled with this dilemma the whole day. I even consulted Paul."

"What did he say?" Emily asked curiously.

Sighing, Casey opened her locker. "Nothing. Like always. He just listened to me talk about the right and wrong of doing what's right and wrong." She turned thoughtfully towards her friend. "Do you think I should tell him?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know. Would you want someone to tell you?"

"I'm me, Em. Of course I would want someone to tell me. Maybe I should let them do what they're doing." Casey mumbled, defeated. "Let them flirt with whoever they're flirting with."

Emily leaned against the neighbouring locker, hugging her books in thought. "I just don't understand why Derek would want to start dating  _before_  breaking up with his current girlfriend. He's never acted this out of character before."

"Oh really?" Casey scoffed. "When did he start this whole 'new character thing'?"

Frowning, Emily opened the journal to the Derek Section and scanned the pages. "By my calculations, he started to act more extreme ever since you moved in." Her brow creasing further, she turned a few pages, stopping at what she intended to study. "Wow! I can't believe I never noticed before. He's never played as many pranks or got into this many detentions before you."

Casey continued to re-arrange her locker. "That could be because, before me, he had no one to prank, and there was no one who had the guts to tell the principal when they got prank-ed."

Emily rolled her eyes at her friend's defence for being a rat and continued. "But what he has done seems more in the line of trying to  _get_  attention."

"From who? George?" Casey chuckled. "No matter what prank Derek pulls, George will be proud."

"Yeah but..."

"I think you're reading too much into it, Em." Casey said casually, as she closed her locker. "The only person who's attention Derek got from pulling all those pranks, was me. And we both know, he doesn't do it just to make me notice him."


	28. Season 3 Episode 2 : In saving the Party

Casey closed the front door, a smile barely hidden as she bit her lip.

"Prince Charming left? I guess that makes sense. Who would want to hang out with a person who believes in fling-flongs?" Derek smirked, welcoming the deathly glare his step-sister threw him. Chuckling, he continued to walk around the room with a garbage bag, dropping paper cups and plates into it.

"For your information, Max thought that it took a lot of effort on my part to learn something that he liked, and he appreciated it." Casey said proudly as she started tidying up the sofa.

"Effort?" He scoffed. "Guess he doesn't know how much effort you're used to using when keeping yourself from falling down on a daily basis." He stopped, his hand on a paper cup. "But wait a second, you _do_  fall down on a daily basis." His grin would probably get him into trouble.

"I do  _not_  fall down on a daily basis." She sneered through gritted teeth.

"Really?" He looked up thoughtfully. "Because today morning..."

"I tripped." She interrupted smoothly.

"I remember something different. Like you falling flat on your face."

She crossed her arms in defiance. "Nope. I righted myself quickly. Never happened." She moved around the couch towards him, and Derek, fearing for his life, moved to the opposite end of the couch. "What's wrong Derek?  _Scared_?" She hissed.

Derek scoffed again. "Only in your dreams, McDonald."

Her eyes narrowed and in one smooth movement, she grabbed a paper plate half full of pie and tossed it at his head. Derek ducked, laughing out loud as it clearly missed. "You think this is funny, do ya?" She snapped, as she grabbed the left over pie. She rushed around the couch as Derek moved away from her. Unlike any other time where a physical fight was involved, this time, Derek found it difficult to move. The context of what was happening was so hilarious, he was bent in two, the pain in his side and the lack of air proving to him that his laughter was very well earned. But because of this act, she managed to immobilize him, and he found the cream pie over his head, which in succeeded in diffusing his laughter. While Casey stood there smirking, Derek opened the garbage bag and dumped the contents over her head. She gasped, jaw dropping, arms flaying uselessly.

It took another two seconds of the two of them staring at each other and the mess they created, before Casey jumped him, pushing him to the ground. They struggled, Casey yelping, and him grunting, both fighting for power by trying to be the person on top. He of course, won.

"Ugh. Get off me." She pushed against him, but he didn't budge.

"Why? Planning on fling-flonging me if I don't?" He smirked as he pushed himself against her.

"Yeah. That is it,  _exactly_." Grabbing a fist full of cream from his hair, she slammed it against his face. "There! Now you're ready for the real world."

He licked the cream off his lips. "But you're still not." As Casey squealed in protest, he moved his face against hers, successfully transfering a good amount of the cream onto her face.

"What in the...?"

They sprung apart, and guiltily looked up at their parents.

"He started it." "She started it." They pointed at each other, their eyes narrowing.

George sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "You two go clean up, now. Then I want this mess cleared. Again. Properly this time."

Glaring at one another silently, they stood up, and headed for the stairs, shoving each other all the way.

Nora turned to George, a hopeful smile on her lips. "At least no one hurt their ankle this time."


	29. Season 3 Episode 3 : In skipping the Babysitting

"What are you doing, Marti?" Casey asked curiously as she joined the youngest Venturi on the floor. Guilt at not spending enough time babysitting the younger siblings was still running through her.

"Drawing a picture." The girl said lightly as she continued to colour, her crayons moving outside of the lines.

Casey squinted at the picture. It looked familiar. "What is it?"

Marti observed the drawing for a few seconds in consideration before she turned to her older step-sister. "It's the perfect babysitter."

Casey was taken aback. "Oh? The perfect babysitter?"

"Yup." Moving closer, she pointed at the picture. "See? It's you and Smerek."

"Um.. but Marti. A babysitter is one person. Wouldn't you rather just draw me?" Casey beamed hopefully.

"You're too strict." Marti pouted. "And Derek's too lazy. But when we have the both of you, it's the perfect babysitter."

"Perfect what now?" They looked up just as Derek swallowed a huge bite of what Casey can only assume was part of a sandwich before he got down on his haunches to look at the picture they were hunched over.

"Marti has drawn the perfect babysitter." Casey said cautiously, her eyes concentrating on the drawing at hand.

"Oh?" Derek looked at her curiously. "Let me guess. You drew me." He smirked.

"No!" Marti screamed. "I drew you  _and_  Casey."

Derek teetered back in mock hurt. "You don't think I'm the perfect babysitter?"

Marti sighed as she placed her crayons back in the box, grabbing all of her things and standing up. "Smerek, you're fun and everything, but don't ever have children unless it's with Casey." Leaving a bewildered look on both teenage faces, she retreated to her room.

They looked at each other in surprise. "I don't think... she meant..."

"No." Casey interrupted. "She couldn't have meant..."

"Yeah... So I better..." Derek stood up, looking at everything but her.

"Yeah. So do I." In one swift movement she stood up, and started for her bedroom. That show was right. Kids  _do_  say the darn-est things.


	30. Season 3 Episode 4 : In quitting the Slacker

"Ugh! She drives me  _crazy_!"

"Okay. I give up. Who sings that song?"

Derek snapped up in bed, his face a mask of confusion. "What the hell?"

"I'm assuming you're going over song choices for the Fun Fair." Edwin said as he leaned against the doorway, arms crossed across his chest.

"Fun Fair? I'm not going to the Fun Fair." He sounded jittery. That wasn't right. "Besides why would I want to choose songs for that thing?"

Edwin's eyebrows rose. "Do you really trust Casey or Nora to choose the songs for the event?"

Derek winced. "You got a point there."

"Okay then. Who's been driving you crazy this time? Go ahead. Tell ."

He rolled his eyes at his brother's words, but smirked all the same. "Is there any doubt about  _who_  could possibly be driving me crazy?"

"Casey?"

"Casey." At his brother's questioning look, Derek continued. "I think she's actually making me feel... guilty about this not helping out Nora thing. Damn her and her manipulative ways." He cursed.

Edwin looked down casually. "Well... Nora  _has_  been great to us. And this  _is_  for your athletics department."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me something, Ed?"

"It's just.. I think that.. maybe once.. Casey's right."

Derek gasped. "You take that back."

Edwin moved back, holding his hands up in defence. "Just telling ya what I'm feeling, Bro."

"Yeah well, what I'm feeling is a traitor." Derek shook his head to rid his current thoughts. "If I do this, Casey wins."

Edwin shrugged. "Maybe it's okay to lose your private battle once, for the sake of the family." He ran out, the basketball hitting his back as he retreated.


	31. Season 3 Episode 5 : In manipulating the Power

She aimed and fired. The paper ball hit his head and innocently fell to the floor. Derek turned around slowly, dropping the pencil he had been doodling his book with, then changing his mind, he picked it up and threw it at her.

"De-rek!" Casey screeched as the pencil bounced off her head. "That could have hit my eye."

He smirked. "Sorry I missed."

"Ugh." She said in a disgusted tone. "I can't believe Em left me here alone so she could make out with her power-loving boyfriend."

"Hey! I'm not exactly having fun here, either." Sighing, Derek stood up and walked towards the classroom door. Casey watched, as he leaned his head out, looking both sides down the hall of their high school. "But looks like my luck's about to change."

"You can't be seriously thinking what I think you're thinking." She snapped as she stood up from her desk, in hopes of stopping her step-brother. But it was too late as Derek sprinted across the hall. "De-rek" She hissed as she followed him. " _What_  do you think you're doing? You're going to end up in detention. Again."

"Oh really? He asked sarcastically. "I had no idea that by skipping out on detention, I would be getting more detentions."

"Skipping out?" Casey snapped as she struggled to keep up with her step-brother's long strides. "But you shouldn't."

"If you feel that way, then why don't you go back? Unless, you want to earn more detentions too." Derek looked over his shoulder and winked at her.

Casey gasped as she looked behind her, making sure that no one had noticed that they were missing yet. "I am  _not_  letting you skip detention."

Derek winced mockingly. "Hate to break it to ya, Case. But we already skipped detention." He suddenly stopped, his ears picking up movement around the corner.

"Technically, until we leave the premises.. umph." She was interrupted as Derek pulled her in the brooms closet with him, closing the door with one quick movement. "De-" She was interrupted again as he pushed his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

He looked down at her, his breathing laboured. "Shhh." She was sure that if his hand hadn't covered her lips, she would have been able to feel his warm breath against her, considering their proximity.

Casey tried to shift away from him, but due to the small space, she only succeeded in moving her chest against his. His eyes continued to bore into hers, and suddenly she didn't feel like she was getting enough air. They heard footsteps pass by the closet door, although their gaze never wavered. After a few minutes of silence, Derek finally removed his hand slowly, his eyes still fixed on hers. Neither made a move to leave. It was as if something held her rooted to the spot. After what felt like a few long minutes, Derek smirked.

"Looks like you're a criminal now, McDonald."

"In your dreams, Venturi." She snapped, enjoying the familiarity of their squabble. "I'm staying."

Opening the door, he backed out, smirking knowingly at her. "Do what you got to do." Then he was gone, leaving Casey wondering.. why couldn't she look away?


	32. Season 3 Episode 6 : In taking the Tip

"A little birdy told me something interesting."

Derek rolled his eyes before he downed a large gulp of milk and faced his step-mother. "Did it have anything to do with me getting an allowance?"

Nora laughed as she started pulling dishes out in the kitchen. "You got a job now, Derek. George and I are not going to pamper you, now that you're an adult."

"I'd like you to bring evidence proving that I am." He grinned as he got off the stool, and started his exit.

"I think I can think of a few good examples." Nora said confidently causing her step-son to stop in his tracks and face her curiously. Grinning, she looked at him. "You quit your job for Casey."

Derek nearly dropped his carton of milk. Is that how everyone sees it? He scoffed. "No I didn't. I just chose not to work at a place which has really bad service."

Smiling knowingly, Nora opened the refrigerator and pulled out the ingredients needed for dinner. "It's okay, Derek. You can finally admit that you care about her."

He was choking. "Wha?  _No_! I do  _not_  care about her. My decision had nothing to do with how she was treated, and everything to do with how the manager treated employees. Besides, I took the job didn't I?" He grinned, knowing that he had won that argument.

"Yeah, you're right. You took the job. But  _after_  you quit, for  _Casey._ "

Derek could see his step-mother enjoying this torture session she called a random talk. His mouth opened to protest, but nothing came out. "But.. I didn't.. It wasn't like.. And he was all..." He shrugged, deciding to try a different tactic. "She was upset."

Nora beamed. "Thank you, Derek. It means the world to George and I to see the two of you getting along like this. I think we might be ready for a family vacation." She said perkily, sounding a lot like another McDonald.

Derek scoffed. "Please, Nora. You might want us all to be the Brady Bunch. But I will  _never_  consider Casey as family." Leaving a bewildered Nora, he left. At least he wasn't lying about that last bit.


	33. Season 3 Episode 7 : In Bullying the lifestyle

"Hey! I called you several times last night." Casey didn't know why, but she felt like she had to walk on egg shells around her boyfriend.

"Yeah. I know." Max mumbled as he concentrated on his lunch.

She slid into the seat opposite his. "Is something wrong?"

He finally looked at her. "You tell me."

Casey was officially confused. "Um.. I don't exactly know what you're talking about."

He looked down, embarrassed. "I don't even know if I should bring this up."

"It's okay." She said consolingly as she reached for his hand. "You can tell me anything."

"The thing is.." She nodded in encouragement. "I can't help but feel that you keep placing me on the back burner whenever Derek is in the picture."

Taken aback, she pulled away her hand. "What?"

Sighing, he continued. "It's great that you care for your step-brother like that, but you don't have to always leave me just to get him out of a rut."

"Are you crazy?" She all but screeched. "Derek is the person who  _gets_  himself in to the rut. If  _I'm_  not there to get him  _out_  of the rut, then there's no one to get him out of that rut."

"Yeah but-"

"Max, I realize that Derek takes up some of my time." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Alright. Most of my time. But as much as it pains me to say it, let alone admit it, I have to be there for him." She shrugged. "I just have to."

"Alright. I understand. It's just... next time you have to be there for Derek, don't forget about me."

She grinned. "I can assure you, that will never happen." Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the lips. As she leaned back, she froze, something catching her eye over his shoulder. "Um.. give me one second." She moved quickly, practically toppling the chair over as she rushed to the cafeteria entrance. Leaning back, Max saw what had drawn her attention. Derek! Of course! They had an animated argument before he saw the subject of their discussion storm off. In a huff, she followed. With a sigh, Max went back to his lunch.

Looks like she forgot about him. Again.


	34. Season 3 Episode 8 : In filming the Movie

"Why are you 'awwing' my stuff?"

Casey's head snapped up to witness her step-brother as he stood, arms crossed, staring down at her. And she guessed blocking the exit of his bedroom was no coincidence. She shrugged casually as her fingers gripped the mouse. "I wasn't."

His eyes narrowed at her barely concealed wrist where she was sure he could see her getting rid of any programmes she had opened. "Then what are you doing, in my bedroom, in my chair, looking at  _my_ computer?"

There. All done. "I was just sitting here." She held out her arms playfully. "Doing nothing. Just...sitting." She cocked her head innocently.

After another glare just for good measure, Derek snapped. "Leave."

Calmly, she stood up. "Okay. I'm going."

They continued staring at each other suspiciously as they took one step at a time towards the middle, surprisingly at the same time. As they stood chest to chest, Derek nodded and they moved quickly switching sides and walked backwards to where the other person once stood. As Derek neared his computer, he quickly sat down and tried to bring up any old programmes. His files were sacred. He didn't want her seeing anything.

Casey watched him, amused. After a few seconds, she cleared her throat. Just as her step-brother looked up at her annoyed, she grinned. "Thanks Derek. I had no idea that all this time you had Mom and George taping all my recitals without me knowing." She watched his face pale, and her grin widened. "And what's even more great, is that you've marked them as your favourites." With a final smirk at his horrified expression, she turned on her heel and left.

It took two seconds for him to be able to breathe again. Then, he got mad. "Ca-SEY!"


	35. Season 3 Episode 9 : In composing the Tune

Groaning, Derek collapsed onto the seat that seemed the least able to get him into trouble. Right at the back. Last row. Last seat. Sighing, he looked to his left. "Max! What are you doing here?"

Max's eyes continued to be glued to the stage as his arms stayed crossed in a stance that made Derek think that he was probably annoyed. "I don't like that Covington guy."

"Who?" Then following his gaze, he understood. " _Oh._  Casey's love interest." He ignored Max's glare and watched his step-sister practice the love/kiss scene. Without the kiss of course. "Yeah, they're pretty chummy."

"That's not funny, Derek."

Sighing, he threw his arm around the football player's shoulders. "Look. You and I both know Casey. She's not the type to cheat. So if you're worried about whether or not she'll do something, I suggest you don't. She's too squeaky clean to do anything like that."

Max let out a low breath. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." He popped up his collar. "No one knows her better than I do."

Max scoffed. "I don't think you pay attention enough to know what she's like."

"I wish I didn't know half the things I know. Who cares if she wears blue eyeshadow when trying to get a guy? Or if she thinks that pink is her lucky colour? Or if she uses a journal filled with code names like kittens?"

"She has a journal?" Casey always told him that a journal was a stupid way of putting out your thoughts for others to see.

Derek scrunched up his face. "Trust me, it's not that interesting."

"Derek! Would you like to join us for your scene now?" The breathy voice of their teacher could be heard loud and clear.

"Look man. Gotta scat." Derek mumbled as he hesitantly stood up. He hated singing.

"Yeah." Max muttered thoughtfully. "See you around." For a person who claimed not to care about whatever Casey did, he sure did know a lot of things that her own boyfriend didn't know about.


	36. Season 3 Episode 10 : In planning the Summer

"Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Casey pulled her legs closer to her, and looked over at her step-brother with a look of pure determination. "Hit me."

Nodding, he picked up the card on top of the pile in between them. "If a child gets restless but  _not_ hungry, what do you do? A. Read them a story. B. Give them a video game or C. Feed them a snack."

Scrunching up her face, she thought about it. "C."

"Why?"

"Because... children are always hungry?"

He grinned. "Way to go. Looks like someone has been studying the notes her master gave her."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not my master."

"When it comes to child care, I am." He picked up another card. "If a girl picks on a boy who likes that said girl, what do you do? A. Ignore it. B. Tell their parents or C. Feed them a snack."

"Hm.. well it can't be A. So... I'm going with C."

"Why?"

"Because children are always hungry." She grinned.

"Finally! Someone learns how to control children. Now for the bonus question." He picked up another card and looked at it critically before raising a eyebrow at her. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Hit me."

"Okay." He cleared his throat. "It's a wonderful day at the camp. The children have been so amiable.."

"You know what amiable means?" She mocked.

Derek cleared his throat and glared at her before continuing. "The children have been so amiable that you have gone through all your listed activities. But, there is still twenty minutes remaining. And they don't want to do anything they've already done. What do you do?"

Casey shook her head. "That will never happen. I can list down more than enough activities that would prevent that from happening."

He rolled his eyes. "Well pretend that it could. Answer."

"Fine. I will do a fun activity."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Define fun."

"Everything that is.. the opposite of what I think is fun..?" She asked thoughtfully.

"Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. And we have a winner!" He grinned and Casey clapped her hands and squealed in happiness, earning a weird look from him.

"What are you doing?" They turned around to see Marti at the door.

Casey smiled at the innocence of the child. "We're practicing to plan more activities for camp." She grinned. "Isn't that great?"

Taken aback, Marti laughed nervously. "Yeah. Great."

Ignoring her sarcasm, Derek and Casey turned back to each other, the questions continuing. Maybe she could tell them that no one wanted them back later. It was a rare occation when they got along well.


	37. Season 3 Episode 11 : In Grading a non-cheater

Following her step-brother angrily, Casey slammed the front door shut. "Oh! So you're mad at me now?" Derek stilled before he glared at her over his shoulder and trudged up the stairs. She followed him, her own blood boiling. "Need I remind you that I am the person who has the right to be mad? Not you." She followed him to his bedroom, and before he could close the door on her, she slipped in, earning a frustrated sigh from him. "It's your fault. End of story." He glared at her again. This time while he held the door open for her. She crossed her arms. "No. We are going to discuss this."

"There's nothing to discuss."

"Ha! Made you talk."

Groaning, he fell onto his bed. "Casey! Just leave."

"Why? Why can't we have a normal adult conversation?"

He sprung up and looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. "Because we're teenagers. And by the way, thanks to you, the hockey team will not have their leading scorer for the play off game."

She faltered, looking a bit guilty. "It's still your fault. If you hadn't not studied, or tried to cheat, or tried to cheat again..."

He rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. "I know. But the point is, you're a snitch."

Her jaw dropped. "I'm not a snitch."

"Oh yes, you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"You take that back."

 _"You_  take that back."

"Take what back?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Whatever."

Casey let out a defeated sigh. "This is going no where."

He looked up thoughtfully. "Just like your math answers."

Gasping, she slapped his shoulder.

"Hey!" He slapped her shoulder.

She slapped him back. Then he slapped her back. Until, they were at all out war. Pushing herself roughly away from him, she pushed the hair out of her face. "I'm going to go to my room now, and when I see you at dinner I expect you to take full responsibility for your actions. Understood?"

He narrowed his eyes at her before he stuck out his tongue. Glaring at him, she stormed out of his bedroom. "Will do, mother!" He called after her. Earning a shriek as she slammed his door shut behind her.

He grinned. That was fun.


	38. Season 3 Episode 12 : In meaning the Adios

She could feel someone watching her. Looking up, she gasped, her hand flying to her chest. "Derek! Don't you knock?"

He walked into her bedroom and looked around curiously. "There's a door around her?"

Rolling her eyes she sat up in bed and fixed him with a glare. "What do you want?"

Shrugging, he sat down on her bed. "Nothing."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't believe you."

"Well too bad." Lying back on his elbows he smirked at her. "So, you were sad that I was leaving huh?"

She felt a blush creep up her neck. "No. Those were happy tears." She huffed. "And to think they were all in vain."

"That's funny. 'Cos you were just ballin'." Her blush increased. "And we're talking about the ugly cry. With tears and snot and-"

"That's enough." Her tone was disgusted. But her expression was smug. "You were going to miss us too. Admit it."

He scoffed. "Not a chance. I was looking forward to the freedom."

"Right." She said sarcastically. "Which is why you admitted to Marti that you would miss me too."

His eyes narrowed. "Never trust a Venturi." He had to deal with Smarti later.

She grinned. "Face it, Derek. I'm the light in your darkness. The hope in your hopelessness."

"The pain in my side?"

"Ignore it if you want. The point is.." She looked at him earnestly. "You would have missed me."

He cocked his head towards her. "As much as you would've missed me."

She allowed a small smile to escape in response to his grin. "But you're not leaving, now are you?"

Sighing, he got off the bed. "Nope. Looks like you're stuck with me." He headed towards the door and saluted her. "Adios McDonald."

She saluted back. "Adios Derek." With a final smirk, he left.

Smiling herself, she went back to her book. If only there was a real life Mr. Darcy.


	39. Season 3 Episode 13 : In creating the Fright

Emily groaned. "Why are we doing this again?"

Turning to her best friend, Casey gave her a reprimanding look. "This is the only thing I can think of that could make Derek physically scared."

"Yeah but..." Emily looked around, her expression one of disdain. "Since he always manages to keep two steps ahead of us, I kind of thought that you would drop it."

"Drop it?" Casey screeched. "I will not just  _drop it_. He scared me. Twice." She narrowed her eyes evilly. "He needs to go down."

Sighing, Emily turned back to her assignment. "I don't know... It doesn't seem scary enough."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY ROOM?"

They twirled around to see the person in question, wide eye, and jaw practically on the floor. Folding her arms behind her, Casey shrugged casually as she batted her eyelashes innocently. "Nothing."

His eyes were deadly. "Casey!"

"Yes?" She asked innocently as she tried to ignore the fact that her best friend sneaked out of the room. "Is something wrong?"

"Is something... You.. what did you..." He sputtered as he walked into his once unique bedroom. "Where are all my stuff?" He practically yelled.

She looked around curiously. "I don't know.. weird isn't it?"

He continued to glare daggers at her. "This is not funny. My room is  _empty!_ "

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Not completely empty. There's a mattress." She gestured to the only item in the room.

He clutched his chest. "I don't think I can breath. My stuff. My precious stuff." He moved around the room. "Where are my posters? My hockey equipment? My  _clothes?"_

She scoffed. "It's not like you use them anyway."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Where's my desk? My wardrobe? My computer?"

She shrugged as she looked around. "No idea."

He took a deep breath before glaring at her. "This is not funny. I want my stuff back."

"Oh?" She walked towards him, smug. "Why? Are you  _afraid_  that something might have happened to them?"

Realization dawned. "Oh this is  _low._  Is this how you planned to get back at me? Hate to break it to you, but this is  _not horror._ "

"I beg to differ. Fear is fear. And right now, it looks like you're afraid that I had burned your things."

He faltered, panicked. "Tell me you didn't burn my things."

She looked on amused before deciding to give him a break. "No." He let out a sigh of relief. "Your stuff is somewhere in this house. You just have to search for them." She started moving towards the bedroom door. "I told you I'll get back at you."

"This is not over. You're going  _down."_

"Bring it." She smirked before closing the door behind her.


	40. Season 3 Episode 14 : In turning Sixteen

Derek stalled when he saw who else was in the kitchen. "Late night snack?"

Casey grinned before taking another spoonful of the chocolate pudding. "You could say that."

Deciding that his step-sister had the right idea, he picked up a spoon and joined her, sitting on the opposite side of the island. "Mmm. This is good."

She scrunched up her face in disgust. "Do you mind? I'm eating here."

"Sorry." He mumbled, his mouth full before taking another huge bite. He grinned when she cringed further.

"I can't believe you're nearly an adult."

"I am an adult... compared to you."

"Says the guy with pudding on his shirt."

"What? Where?" He looked down.

Rolling her eyes, she stood up, grabbed a napkin and headed for the sink. "You're such a five year old."

"Says the grandmother."

She narrowed her eyes playfully as she pushed his shoulder roughly so as to get a better look at the stain on his collar. "Just because you're a few months older, doesn't make you a glorified adult."

He watched her, finding her concentration fascinating. "Actually, I think it  _does_  make me a glorified adult."

Smirking she pulled at the now clean collar of his t-shirt watching it bounce harmlessly against his skin. "You wish." Going back to her seat, she picked up her neglected spoon. "So...You planning on thanking me properly for throwing you a birthday party, or what?"

He looked up thoughtfully for a second before taking another huge bite of the pudding. "Not a chance."


	41. Season 3 Episode 15 : In remembering the Meeting

"So..." Sam began as he closed his locker shut. "How did it go with  _Sall-ey_."

Derek raised his eyebrows at his friend's choice of inflection. "It's not going." He shut his own locker.

"What did you do?"

Derek's jaw dropped. "Why is it that when something goes wrong it's automatically my fault?"

Sam pretended to think about it for a while. "Because it is."

"Thanks." Derek deadpanned before sighing. "But I guess she's not as much like a guy like I thought she was."

"Um.. isn't that a good thing?"

"Physically, yeah. But mentally..." He cringed. "She might be all girl."

Sam shrugged. "That's what you get when you date a girl. You get a girl."

"Are you always this sarcastic? or are you just unusually witty today?"

He shrugged again. "I think it's today."

"Figures." They started walking towards class. "The thing is... she's cute. And she doesn't do the whole touchy feely thing like someone else we know..."

Sam looked on, confused. "Who?"

"Casey?" Derek asked in an obvious tone. "Haven't you noticed that my dating streak has been unusually...emotional?"

"Girls  _are_  emotional." Sam chuckled.

"See? I refuse to admit that. I've always thought that there has to be a girl out there who thinks like a guy. And I think I've found her."

"So a girl who is not too emotionally invested and who just want to hang out?" Sam sounded skeptical.

"Exactly." Derek grinned. "The Anti-Casey."


	42. Season 3 Episode 16 : In encouraging the Ivanhoe

" _What_  are you doing?" She raised her eyebrow at him, arms crossed, her glare evident.

"Who? Me? Nothing." Derek said casually.

"Then why are your hands behind your back?"

"What hands?"

"Those hands."

"Hands of what?"

"Uh.. your hands."

"My hands are where?"

Casey let out a noise of frustration. "What do you have behind your back, Derek?"

"Nothing Spacey."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then." She started moving towards him, her arms out ready to grab whatever he had behind his back. Within two seconds, she was doused with water, her vision blurred.

"Whoops. Sorry. Dad wanted me to try out this water gun."

She breathed deeply, hoping that maybe her anger might not break through and rip her brother from limb to limb.

"Oh. One more thing." He turned around to grab something. "I know how much you want us to act like gentlemen. And what's more gentlemanly than giving you something you need?" With a grin, he tossed the towel over her head blurring her vision further.

She counted to three before she unleashed her anger and ran after him. "De-rek!"


	43. Season 3 Episode 17 : In Un-doing the deed

"Could you pass the salt?"

Derek eyed the various spices on the shelf. "Salt is the white one, right?"

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Sally moved around him to grab what she was looking for. "I'm surprised you know the colour."

"Yeah. I'm full of knowledge." He puffed out his chest and was happy when she grinned.

"So.. I like your family." She said casually as she went back to cutting whatever she was cutting.

He leaned against the counter, his eyes focused on her actions. "Generally that lasts only for about two minutes before the real feeling hits."

"And what's the real feeling?"

"Confusion. Then surprise. Followed promptly by...'huh'?" He looked at her in mock confusion.

She chuckled. "I actually like Casey too."

He stiffened. "I don't think we can be friends if you think that."

She stopped to look at him curiously. "Why not? I think she's great." She started sliding the vegetables into the bowl. "Really sweet too. Why don't the two of you get along?"

"Because she's  _Casey._ " He said in an obvious tone. "She's whiny and complainy and whiny."

"You said whiny."

"Did I?" He sighed. "The point is, she's too different."

"I don't know. She kind of reminds me of me."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Chuckling, she started stirring the pot. "Not really. When I was in high school, I was into plays and drama. I loved acting and music. Didn't have the talent that much though."

"I'm sure you were better than you thought you were."

"Really smooth, Venturi."

"Thanks." He grinned. "But you're not Casey. Trust me, I noticed."

"Whatever you say. I still think she's great." She held out her hand.

"Yeah..about that. I don't." Grinning, he handed her the salt.


	44. Season 3 Episode 18 : In celebrating the Sweet life

"How does it feel to be sixteen?"

Casey groaned as she tried, and failed to sit up in bed. "Like it hurts."

Derek grinned. "Sounds about right." He sat down on the bed, taking care not to move too close to the IV.

She looked around the room, confused. The drugs making her hazy. "Where's everyone?"

"Hospital cafeteria. Did you know that they eat only vegetables in this joint?" He made a disgusted sound. "No wonder people get sick."

Rolling her eyes, Casey tried to sit up again, but ended up falling back onto the pillow with a sigh. She hated being powerless.

"You're up." They turned around to see Marti grinning widely as she bounced into the hospital room.

Casey smiled. "Hey Marti." She hoped her voice didn't sound as weak as she thought it did.

"I hope you're feeling better." Marti came forward and held onto her step-sister's hand gently.

"I am. Thank you, Marti."

The little girl grinned. "Good." Leaning forward, she pecked her cheek gently. "Now, you'll definitely get better."

Casey giggled slightly but winced when the pain shot through her. Marti looked up at her brother expectantly. "You're turn."

Derek stiffened, startled. "My turn's a what now?"

"To kiss Casey." Marti said sternly. "You kiss her, and she'll get better."

"Yeah...about that. I'm not really the kissing Casey sort of person."

"He's right, Marti." Casey chipped in, feeling uncomfortable at the prospect of showing affection to her step-brother. "We're not really those kinds of kissing step-siblings."

Ignoring her step-sister, Marti narrowed her eyes at her brother. "If you don't kiss Casey, and she doesn't get better, I won't let you play princess and dinosaurs with me anymore."

Derek gasped in mock hurt. "You're seriously not going to let me save you from the mean tickling dinosaurs until I kiss...her?" Casey rolled her eyes at how disgusted he sounded. Typical.

Marti nodded her head vigorously. "Yup."

Groaning, Derek sighed. "Fine. But I'm doing this for  _you."_ When his little sister beamed at him, he leaned over his step-sister.

Casey's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

He paused, and cocked an eyebrow at her. "I know you're kind of out of it, but we just had this conversation  _right here._ " He moved forward, but her other hand made it's way, pushing against his chest. "You're too close."

Letting out an exasperated sound, Derek turned to his sister. "Told you. She's not kissable."

"Hey!" Casey protested.

"Casey!" Derek reprimanded. "The adults are talking." At her huff, he grinned turning back to Marti. "Looks like Casey is destined to die a painful death. Sorry Marti"

Marti crossed her arms and glared at her brother. Apparently, that was enough. He rolled his eyes, swore under his breath and bent down. Curious, Casey turned to see why Derek decided to use such colourful language around his sister when his lips hit hers. Her eyes widened, and so did his before he jumped away so quickly, he knocked the chair over, which in turn knocked the IV over. The result was... definitely messy. But her eyes stayed glued to Derek in shock, who seemed to be suffering from a panic attack.

"Um.. "Marti mumbled softly as she turned towards her brother. "Maybe you're right."


	45. Season 3 Episode 19 : In Driving the competition

Derek entered his room with a huge grin splitting his face. A grin that immediately fell as he saw  _someone_  sitting prettily on his computer chair. He faltered. "Casey." He said slowly, his tone guarded.

"Derek." She replied just as defensive. She crossed her legs slowly, and he couldn't help but follow the movement. "How did it go?" She looked at him expectantly, her excitement barely hidden.

He eyed her warily, determined not to give her the satisfaction. "Okay." He shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You...?"

"I...?"

She huffed. "Did you pass?" Her tone showed her frustration, and her cool demeanor started to crumble.

He shrugged again. "Maybe."

With a twitch of her head, she eyed him carefully, determined to read him. Then, her face split into a wide grin. "You passed!" Before he could deny this, she jumped up and clapped her hands. "I knew you would. My defensive driving is guaranteed to give you a license."

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." He put up his hands, trying to stop her shrieking. " _You_  didn't do  _anything_. It was  _my_  mad skills."

She raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Really?" Crossing her arms, she moved closer to him. So close, she had to tilt her head up. "Prove it."

He eyed her intensely, his own body moving closer of its own volition. When he spoke, his voice was soft, and glazed with honey. A tone he had never really used on her. "What did you have in mind?"

She gulped, something he couldn't help but notice. Then, she shrugged it off, and eyed him in determination. "Drive me."

He moved even closer, her tone too much of a bet to ignore. "When?" She seemed speechless for a moment, and he couldn't help but eye her parted lips. For purely competition purposes, he told himself. She probably noticed.

"When you start paying my gas and insurance for a year." Her tone was chirpy as she turned on her heel and left quickly, barely closing the door behind her.

He simply stared after her, wondering, what the hell just happened?


	46. Season 3 Episode 20 : In meeting all Prom-ises

Casey couldn't help beaming as she got out of the Prince. Even Derek refusing to open the car door for her wouldn't put her in a damper. It was finally happening. Her perfect, dream prom! She's got the dress, she looks amazing, and even Derek couldn't ruin her mood. Speaking of which...

"Thank you, by the way." She always felt shy when she thanked him sincerely. It's a problem she has to get rid of.

He shrugged as he fell into a step beside her. "It's the least I can do to stop you whining about your stupid dress."

She halted, her cheeks pinking with agitation. "Whining? I think I have to whine when you  _ripped_  my  _dress."_

Sighing, he stopped and turned towards her, his hands still casually in his pockets. "I did you a favour. You looked ugly in that thing."

She gasped. "I did not."

Leaning forward, he smirked like he was about to tell a big secret. "Monkeys would have thought you were a clown."

She didn't think it was possible, but she was even more insulted. "Like you look any better in that...jacket." Lame, yes, but she couldn't think of anything else.

Putting out his arms, he examined himself. "This? It's vintage, Case."

"Really?" Marching forward, she grabbed onto his lapels and pulled him towards her, in an effort to show off the material. "Everyone knows this material is 1970's. It's not vintage, it's outdated."

He looked at her silently for a second before cocking his head to the side and eying her curiously. "I help make your perfect prom, and this is how you thank me?"

Suddenly self conscious, she let go of the material, absently smoothing it out. Her eyes stayed determinedly away from his. "I thanked you already."

He snorted. "Yeah, I heard." Shrugging her hands off him, he casually started heading towards the entrance. "You coming?"

After a second of hesitation, she followed him. They were nearly there, anyway.


	47. Season 3 Episode 21 : In learning to Cheer

"Derek."

He sighed, his pace picking up slightly.

"Derek."

He started moving a bit more quickly.

"Derek! Wait up."

Closing his eyes, he turned around, prepared to face the inevitable. "Missed your pod ride, Case?"

Giving him a barely humorous look, she rushed towards him. "Is it true? Amy broke up with you? What did you do?"

"Wait. First of all, it was mutual. And second of all, it was  _all_  her."

"Yeah, well. I don't care." She pointed down the hall. "Go get back together with her."

He raised his eyebrows at her tone. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Amy and I are finally friends. And do you know why?"

"You two are twins separated at birth?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No. Because she has  _you_." She ignored the curious look he gave her. "I know you're nothing much but..." He crossed his arms and looked at her in defiance. "Will you just go get back with her already?"

He eyed her in amusement. "This is really bugging you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. Now can you please go make sure that she's so happy she doesn't want my boyfriend back?"

"Let me think about that." He looked up thoughtfully for a second. "Nooo. You see, I think I have a limit to Crazy Casey-ness, and dating her will take me  _way_  over my limit."

"What?" She looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"She can't stop talking about you. And as much as I  _love,_  and absolutely  _adore_  living with you, and seeing you in school everyday, I draw the line at talking about you on my dates."

She looked at him, dumbfounded. "Well, then. We have to fix that, don't we? Just give her something to talk about besides me."

He sighed, leaning back casually. "I tried."

"Maybe you didn't try hard enough." She said desperately.

"Believe me. I tried." He turned around, and started walking away.

"Derek."

He kept walking.

"Derek."

She finally decided to use force and grab his jacket. "Look, maybe we can-"

"Casey!" He looked at her seriously. " _Nothing_  makes me happier than being able to forget you for a few glorious hours a day. You're  _everywhere_  in my life, and I just can't get rid of you. If the girl can't get with the anti-Casey programme, I'm not dating her. Capiche?" Shrugging her hand off him, he turned again, and left.

Casey stood there, watching him leave. She never knew he could be so hurtful.


	48. Season 3 Episode 22 : In embracing the Allergy

"...so then he tells me that he would have never even thought about approaching the girl had I been there in the first place." The blonde looked at him in earnest. "What do you think?"

Looking up thoughtfully, Derek put his hands together and contemplated. "To me, it just sounds like he's taking you for granted. My advice? Why not set him loose? Let him see how in demand  _you_  are, and he'll come crawling back."

"That's great advice, Derek. Thanks." With a beaming disposition, she left.

Derek couldn't help but roll his eyes. That was the fourth person he had given advice to, and it was barely ten. Looking around, he finally spotted a lonely corner, lacking in any trouble hearted being. He started towards the haven, grabbing the first beer he saw. Which happened to be in the slackened grip of a Freshman, who swallowed his protest when he noticed the thief was in fact Derek Venturi. He gave the poor guy a smirk and a wink as a 'thank you'. Reaching the sliding doors, he looked around to make sure that no other heartbroken girl had seen him, and quickly slipped through to the darkness outside, sliding the door shut behind him. He stopped, the bottle half way to his lips, when he realized who was sitting on the steps. Max turned back to his beer and took a long gulp, then nodded his head at the empty spot next to him in invitation. Derek got the hint.

"I'm hiding from over emotional estrogen. What's your excuse?" Derek said conversationally, as he took a sip of his stolen beverage. His companion stayed silent, a forlorn expression on his face. He knew that look. With a deep seated sigh, Derek gestured towards him. "Go ahead. Lay it on me. Sensitive Derek is not going to get a break, I see."

Max finally looked up curiously. "Sensitive Derek?"

"It's a...thing I'm currently trying out. It will  _probably_  never make a second appearance. So, let me know your inner demons."

Max let out a half-hearted laugh, before he went back to the thoughtful brooding. "Casey broke up with me tonight."

Derek spat out his drink in an effort not to choke. "She  _what_?" He sputtered.

"I don't get it." Max continued thoughtfully, as if he hadn't heard anything. "Everything was going so great, and then she had to go  _find_  herself."

Realization dawned. "Um..."

"What's there to find? It's not like she's in an emotional crisis."

"...actually..."

"How can she say that it wasn't her?"

"Well, it wasn't."

Max looked up. "What?"

Derek shrugged. "It wasn't her."

"What wasn't?"

"The whole cheerleader thing." Max looked at him blankly, and Derek sighed in frustration. "Casey is preppy. Annoyingly true. But she's not the cheerleader type. She's the... over-achieving, Captain of the Debate Team, member of the MUN and poetry reading, tree hugger type. She's not happy doing one thing. She needs to 'contribute'. No matter how ridiculous we all know her 'contribution' to be. She has to do it." He finished in a matter of fact tone. "She hates  _anything_  that can be perceived as shallow."

"And anything to do with football, is shallow?" Max asked, sounding a bit defensive.

"Hey man. You and I are on the same page. Sports is  _awesome_. But Casey? She doesn't belong in this world."

Max eyed his beer thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean she has to break up with me to get out of my world."

"True." Derek said confidently, as he took another sip. "But be honest. Can you date a girl who doesn't want anything to do with your world?"

Max looked at him, reluctantly. "I guess not."

Derek patted him on the back. Another consoling gesture he learned from those blasted McDonalds. "In a way, she did you a favour."

Nodding, Max went back to concentrating on his drink. "I guess you're right."

Derek shrugged as he finished the last bit of his beer. "Of course I am."


	49. Season 3 Episode 23 : In Bumping into trouble

"What are you doing?"

Derek stumbled slightly, before he righted the bowl under the faucet. Looking over his shoulder, he glared at his best friend. "Do you always just walk into people's houses?"

Ralph shrugged as he started moving about the kitchen, touching cabinets and picking up mugs. "You said no one was home."

"But that doesn't mean you should just walk in." Derek closed the tap.

"But it wasn't locked." His friend gestured to the door behind him. "If that doesn't say 'come in'..."

"I get it." Derek interrupted. He held the water filled bowl and headed in the direction of the stairs. "Give me a few seconds while I wake the Princess up." He snickered.

Ralph watched with curious amusement. "Is that how you normally wake her up?"

"On a good day." Derek shrugged.

"So then, you're bringing her?"

Derek paused, bowl unsteadily balanced in his hands to look at his friend curiously. "Is there a reason I shouldn't?" He raised the bowl in a gesture. "I got water ready and everything."

"But didn't she break up with Max? Things could get ugly."

Derek eyed Ralph thoughtfully. "You have a point there." He said more to himself.

"On the other hand, I heard that Max is coming with Carol... so it could be fun." Ralph's grin was wide. He knew how his best friend always wanted to see Casey in a tight spot.

"Hm.. you know what? I don't think today's party is the  _best_  social event for Casey to make a grand entrance to the dating world." Dumping the contents of the bowl in a close by plant, he headed towards the kitchen and left the plastic item on the counter. "The last thing I want is to have Casey whine, and whine, and whine all about Max the whole night. I got a date too, you know."

"True." Ralph shrugged. "Hey! Maybe her friend Ellen Junior will be coming." He said enthusiastically.

Derek stopped in his tracks and placed his hand on Ralph's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Er.. you  _do_  realize that Ellen Junior is the plastic baby she named for the Family Planning Assignment, right?"

Ralph's face fell. "Oh." Just as they closed the door behind them, he said. "I didn't know she had a baby."

Derek groaned.


	50. Season 3 Episode 24 : In learning to Date

Crossing her arms, Casey glared at him. "Give us just a sec, Amanda." Ignoring his sigh of frustration, she grabbed his sleeve, and dragged him to the kitchen. " _What_  were you thinking?"

"Um.. I don't know. What were  _you_  thinking?"

"What was I thinking about what?"

"About getting involved? Didn't I say something about that?" He looked up thoughtfully. "Oh yeah." He glared at her. "Stay out of it."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well, stop it. I can handle it just fine."

She snorted. "Yeah. I can see that."

Letting out a low breath, he took a step towards her. "I will handle the whole situation. And I'll do it my way. What I don't understand is, why are  _you_  so involved." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Casey opened her mouth, speechless. "I just..." He kept looking at her expectantly. "I just wanted to see you...happy." She shrugged sincerely. She was giving him ammunition. She knows that.

He seemed speechless from her revelation. "And me being with Sally will make me happy?" He asked curiously.

She made a non-committal gesture. "She's good for you. And you like her. Which is a shock by itself."

"Of course I like her. She's a lot like..." He stopped, his eyes widening.

Casey cocked her head to the side, her eyes questioning. "A lot like?"

"People. A lot of...people." He looked away from her.

She smiled slightly. "Whatever it is that makes you like her, I think you should tap into that. You deserve to be happy." Giving another encouraging smile, she left. Derek stood still for a second, watching her leave.


	51. Season 3 Episode 25 : In bringing back the Derekus

Casey stood up and ushered everyone upstairs. "Don't worry everyone, Derek and I will clean up."

Derek's hat dropped off his head in protest. "We are?"

Casey narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, we are." She turned to the others, hugging each one of them and saying goodnight.

Aunt Madge kissed them all, leaving Derek for last. "Thank you for making this the best Derekus ever."

Derek grinned, beside himself. "No problem Aunt Madge." The family trotted up the stairs, except for Nora and George who headed towards the basement. Derek put his hands together and faced Casey. "Well, that was great. I'm off to bed."

She grabbed his shirt, barely keeping him from reaching the first stair. "No chance. You're helping."

He stopped fighting it, causing her to loosen her grip. "You volunteered me. So you can't force me."

"No." She said seriously, letting him go. "But I  _can_  plead you in the name of Derekus."

He eyed her warily. "I hate it when you play dirty."

She let out her own smirk that strangely resembled his. "Of course you do. So lets get to it."

Derek pointed towards the kitchen. "I'll start in there."

Casey shrugged as she went about picking up the little knick knacks around the living room. Deciding that the kitchen was way too quiet, she decided to pay a little visit to her fellow cleaning buddy. She expected him to have done some work. instead, she found him languidly eating cereal, a comic book in his hand. "Derek."

He looked up. "Yes?"

Her eyes roamed around the messy kitchen. "You haven't done anything."

"Of course I have." He protested, pointing at the garbage. "I dumped the used tissues."

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed his arm and pulled him off the stool. "Do I have to do  _everything_?"

Dropping his spoon into the bowl, he grinned at her. "You sound surprised at that."

Rolling her eyes, she pushed him towards the living room. Derek shot out both arms and stopped himself before stepping through the door. "Not so fast."

She sighed. "Now what?"

Turning around, he gestured up. "Mistletoe. How about a kiss,  _sis_?"

Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew. I am  _not_  kissing you."

"That's too bad." He shrugged. "Since holiday rules dictate that a person cannot pass through the area of the mistletoe without following the tradition."

She eyed him warily. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Sally?" He asked, confused. "What does she have to do with-" He stopped, his eyes widening in realization. "Wait. You thought..." He let out a loud bark of laughter. "You actually thought I wanted you to kiss me on my  _mouth?_ "

Casey was taken aback. Not  _quite_ expecting that reaction. "You  _did_  say tradition."

"Yeah. But, come on." Derek sputtered mid-laughter. "We don't even like each other. We shouldn't be kissing each other." His laughter got louder. "You're hilarious."

"It's not like that." She protested, suddenly very self conscious. She hated getting embarrassed. And she hated been proven wrong by stupid Derek.

"Wow, Case. I didn't know you wanted to kiss me so much."

"I don't."

"Sure." He stepped closer to her, his tone dripping with mockery. "And I'm guessing that if I kissed you right now, you won't enjoy it at all." It was clear he didn't believe her.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "As much as I would enjoy kissing a fish."

The laughter in his eyes fizzled, just as his grin turned to a grim line. "Suit yourself." She could practically see the anger radiating off him. With a quick movement, he grabbed the back of her neck and kissed the corner of her lips quickly. "Happy Derekus. Enjoy cleaning up without me." Letting her go roughly, he turned on his heel and stalked off. Within seconds, he had closed his bedroom door.

Casey stood there in a daze. Did he aim to kiss her cheek, and then miss?


	52. Season 4 Episode 1 : In ignoring the Party poop-er

Casey rolled her eyes. "Of course.  _You_ would just be hanging around in your room reading comics, while your girlfriend is downstairs throwing  _your_  sister's birthday party."

Derek looked up from his comic book lazily, only to burst into laughter at the sight of his step-sister. "Is that... what I think you're wearing?" He doubled over, heaving to take in as much breath as possible.

"What?" She asked, feeling just a bit self-conscious. "It's suitable."

"Suitable?" His laughter only got louder. "Your ugly  _prom_   _dress_?"

Flustered, she touched the soft fabric of her dress affectionately. "It's not  _that_  bad."

"Oh, believe me. It's bad." He mocked.

She huffed at his amused expression. "That's beside the point. Can you please come down and help? We're drowning here."

His expression sobered instantly. "Well then Sally should have not volunteered to take over something that requires fifteen burly men dressed as dragons."

Casey sighed. "I'm sure she didn't...mean it."

"Oh yeah. She meant it. She just wants to control me, like every other girl I've dated. But you know what? I'm not giving in." He shook his head as he picked up his previously dropped comic. "And you can't change my mind no matter how ridiculously dressed you are."

"Derek-"

"I'm serious, Case." He said casually as he went back to reading his comic. "Not...  _budging_."

"Fine." She turned to leave before a thought made her stop. "Just so you know, the reason Sally wanted to help out, was because Marti was really excited about this. And if she can't share her birthday with her big brother then..." She shrugged forlornly. "...I guess it won't be nearly as special as she wants it to be." With that as a parting shot, she left.

Derek stayed put for a while as he tried in vain to concentrate on a thought bubble in the comic. He finally gave up after reading the same sentence for the tenth time. With an annoyed grunt, he tossed the book aside, and rose lazily from the bed. He was  _not_  going to check on the party. He just needed... chips. Which just happened to be downstairs where the party also just happen to be. Yup, that's exactly what he was going to do. And it has  _nothing_  to do with what Casey had said.


	53. Season 4 Episode 2 : In solving the Plight

"Hey."

Casey smiled when she turned towards the person addressing her. "Hi. I take it that you and Derek have finally patched things up."

Sally let out a small smile as she looked over her shoulder at Derek ruffling Edwin's hair. "Yeah. Everything's good again." She turned towards Casey. "Thanks, by the way. I know that Derek couldn't have done it without you."

"Even though he says he did it all by himself?" Casey asked knowingly.

Sally's grin was genuine affection. "Even if he says he did it by himself."

"No problem. We all know he needs help emotionally."

An arm was thrown around Sally. "Who needs help emotionally?" Derek asked pulling his girlfriend against him.

Casey cocked her head to the side to regard him curiously. "Can't you guess?"

Playing along, Derek's lips lifted in a smirk. "No one comes to mind. But I  _do_  know someone who needs help socially."

Casey was about to respond when Sally interrupted. "You know what? I think I better go and check if your family needs anything." With a quick kiss to Derek's cheek, she left. They waited until she was out of earshot before they turned on each other.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Thank you?" He crossed his arms and eyed her in mock wariness. "What for?"

"Um...how about for helping you write the song? Singing that same song? Getting you back on the good graces of your girlfriend?"

He looked up thoughtfully. "Funny. I don't remember  _any_  of this happening."

Cocking one eyebrow, she advanced on him. "Really? 'Cause I remember you  _begging_  for my help."

He didn't back down. "What an over-active imagination you have, Case."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You're such an awful liar."

His smirk seemed to widen. "Who says I'm lying?"

They continued to stare each other down, unsure on how such a contest even started. It took some time for Casey to realize that she had forgotten that they were currently in a crowded restaurant with their family and friends barely ten feet away from them. Her smirk fell at the same moment that his did. But she found the impulse to break their eye contact, practically nothing compared to the impulse to hold on for as long as possible. Without a second thought, she spoke. The question not even processing until it left her mouth. "Why is it that you have such a hard time expressing what you feel for others but you can easily express what you feel for me?"

He seemed to think about it as he held her gaze. "And what do I feel for you?"

The way he said it, gave her pause. He sounded...serious. The impulse to move her eyes from him was getting stronger. She shrugged in an effort to look casual. "Anger...Annoyance."

"You're right about that." He tone was flippant, casual. But his eyes held hers intensely. "You also forgot infuriated, frustrated, exasperated."

"I didn't know you knew such words, Derek. I'm impressed."

"Oh yeah. I'm a walking thesaurus."

Her eyebrows rose higher. "How do you know what a thesaurus is?"

His eyes happened to get a mysterious glimmer as his smirk turned almost feral. "Did you honestly think that after all these years, I wouldn't figure out that your diaries are hidden in plain sight, only with different covers?"

Casey gasped, her jaw dropping for a split second. She immediately snapped her mouth shut when she realized that his eyes had followed the movement. When his gaze rose back to hers, she saw slight panic in them. She said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Sally!"

Derek jumped, effectively breaking their staring war, and looked over his shoulder to see his girlfriend in an animated conversation with his parents. He winced. Never a good sign. "You're right. I better go save her." With that, he turned on his heel and left. He didn't look back at her once.


	54. Season 4 Episode 3 : In not being Friends

Sally let out a sigh just as they pulled up in front of her house. "What...a...night."

Killing the engine, Derek leaned back. "Yeah. If you hadn't gone out with Patrick, none of this would've happened."

She rolled her eyes, tired of hearing this for the fourth time. "For the last time, just because you were right about Patrick, doesn't mean you're right about everything."

"I don't know." Derek said in mock thoughtfulness. "It seems that I should be referred to as the 'all knowing one'."

Sally shook her head in disbelief, before turning to face him. "Okay then, Mr. All-knowing-one. Tell me this. If men and women  _can't_  be friends, what about you and Casey?"

Derek's smirk dropped so fast, it nearly hurt. "What about me and Casey?"

Sally shrugged. "You're not related. You're kind of friends."

He scoffed. "Me and Casey? Friends?" He let out a low rumble of laughter. "That's rich. We are  _not_  friends."

"And why is that?"

"Oh I don't know." He said sarcastically. "Don't friends have to act... friendly towards each other?"

"Oh, I beg to differ. You see, you help each other..."

Derek shook his head in denial. "Nope."

"...you know what's going on each other's lives..."

He just kept trying to shake the words off. "Nah uh."

"...you get the other involved when you do something..."

His head was really starting to hurt. "Never."

"...and you defend each other."

His head was simply pounding. "You're wrong. Casey and I are  _not_ friends. And we will never be friends."

"Why?" Sally mocked. "Because of your ridiculous theory that guys and girls can't be just friends?" He started shaking his head again, but Sally continued. "The way I see it, your relationship with Casey is the perfect example of guys and girls being able to be  _just_  friends." She kissed his lips quickly, her demeanour sly. "Think about it, and you'll know I'm right." With a final wave, and a wide smile, she stepped out of the car.

Derek stayed there numbly for a second, processing what his girlfriend had just said. Somehow, adding Casey into the argument, just doesn't help in disputing his theory. It just doesn't.


	55. Season 4 Episode 4 : In celebrating the Break

_There's meatloaf... in my ficus_.

Definitely words Casey never thought she'd ever hear. Letting out a small puff of breath, her lips curved into a smile at the memory as she burrowed her cheek deeper into her pillow. A pillow, she suddenly realized, that kept moving up and down rhythmically. In a flash, her eyes opened wide, and she stifled a scream when she realized that she was not in her warm toasty bed, but on the family couch. And, to make matters worse, she wasn't alone.

Knowing who it was, didn't make the realization anymore easier as her eyes moved up to rest on the face of her sleeping step-brother. He looked like an angel. Like he would never be caught dead doing anything remotely evil. She nearly snorted at the direction her thoughts were going. Somehow, fighting over the remote, and watching hockey at three in the morning resulted in… this. She, practically lying atop of Derek in a very awkward position. They were hardly sitting, yet not lying down either. And her arm was under his lower back, which resulted in a nasty cramp. Biting her lower lip in concentration, she dropped one shoulder so as to lightly shrug off his arm which happened to be around her. As his arm fell lightly to his side, she quickly glanced back at him to make sure he wasn't stirring. Satisfied at his lack of movement, she decided to work on getting out of the more difficult position her legs were in. Part of her wanted to shove him off the couch unceremoniously, but her conscience happened to point out that he would probably roll off the sofa only to hit his head against the coffee table. And at five in the morning, she had no intention of taking him to the emergency room.

With a deep breath to prepare, she lightly shifted, trying to free her arm from under him. But even in his sleep Derek snubbed her, suddenly moving just to burrow deeper into the cushions and her arm. Realizing that she could probably free her arm easily, wake up Derek in a very selfish way, and strut up to her bedroom without having to give him time to react with one simple action, she decided to suck it up and straddle him. The fact the she didn't feel completely repulsed by the idea, she ignored. She also ignored the fluttering excitement that settled in her stomach as she overcame her difficulty and settled on top of his lap. Her body hovering over him so as to ensure that  _nothing_  touched. She was too busy trying to dislodge her arm when it was suddenly freed when the weight of his back abruptly lifted. Raising her head sharply, her eyes connected with his. She froze in place. His expression was a mask of detached boredom, but his eyes held onto hers fiercely. And for once, she didn't say a thing. She found that she couldn't. Especially since her position dictated that she not be more than a few measly centimeters away from him.

Without moving his gaze from hers, he lifted his hand and curled his fingers around her arm. She held her breath as he gently moved, removing her arm from under him. Her arm prickled with numbness, and the place where his hand rested on her, burned her. Part of her wondered how she was to get out of this situation without embarrassing herself in front of her step-brother. But as always, Derek seemed to know exactly what  _not_  to say. And completely ignore the etiquette of it all.

Placing his hands on either side of her hips, he smirked. "Wow Spacey, I had no idea you liked being on top so much." He then pushed her down, ensuring that she landed completely on his lap with a slight gasp.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she shoved against his shoulders hard. "Personally, I had no idea you wanted to  _be controlled_  so much." With a slight shift of her hips, she got comfortable.

Derek's eyes widened before he moved his hands up the sides of her body to lift her up from the waist. "I'm generally the one in control."

Cocking her head to the side to regard him curiously, Casey beamed sarcastically. "Not with me, you aren't." Grabbing both his hands in hers, she dislodged herself and hopped off him. Without glancing back, she headed towards the stairs and calmly took one step at a time. Even though what she really wanted to do was rush up the stairs and into her bedroom, locking the door shut after her. And maybe scream into her pillow.


	56. Season 4 Episode 5 : In rating the 6 ½

"You guys are not going to fight over me, are you?" Kendra questioned hopefully.

Sitting at an opposite table, Truman and Derek scrunched up their faces in disgust. "No." "No." With an uncomfortable smile, she decided to go back to her notes, trying to ignore the fact that she was simultaneously rejected by two of the most popular guys in school.

Truman turned back to Derek. "So, how do I get her to  _stop_  hating my guts?"

Derek looked thoughtful for a second. "Try saving a whale or a forest or something. Or donating books. She  _loves_  libraries."

Scoffing, Truman leaned back to casually. "Come on, Derek. You're her step-brother. You must know  _something_ that can help me win her over."

Derek eyed him carefully. "I don't care what you do, as long as you stay away from Sally and Emily." He saw his ex-girlfriend raise her head curiously from the corner of his eye. "She, you can have." He said generously gesturing towards Kendra. Truman ignored her huff of frustration.

"There must be something…"

Smirking, Derek rose from his seat. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but Casey will never go for a guy like you."

Truman grinned back, his confidence hardly wavering. "And what kind of guy am I?"

"The same kind of guy I am." Derek shrugged. "Trust me, you're wasting your time." Having said that with as much wisdom he can muster, he turned to take an order from a recently occupied table.

Truman watched his fellow classmate leave. Though he couldn't help but wonder why Derek spoke with such conviction. Still, he was convinced that the warning does not apply to him.


	57. Season 4 Episode 6 : In admitting the Denial

Casey couldn't help herself. Knowing that she was going to be kicked out of his room within two minutes of entering, she moved quickly. She came into his room with a plate full of cookies to tempt him with and a large smile to annoy him with. Derek stared at her from his seated position on the bed .

"You deliver now? Great. I'll let you know my order for tomorrow."

Casey rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to him on his bed, while placing the plate of cookies on her lap. "I thought we needed to celebrate."

He stopped reaching for one of the chocolate filled sweets to stare at her. "Celebrate what?"

She shrugged. "Your maturity. You  _finally_  realizing that denying your feeling is not the way to go."

His eyebrows rose. "And what  _is_  the way to go?"

She smiled smugly, her voice taking on a tone of wisdom. "Accepting your feelings. And doing something about it."

He scoffed. "Feelings?" She nodded. "Me? Accepting my…feelings?" He waited until she nodded again before he let out a loud bark of laughter. "That's rich. You're the one who's Ms. Safe."

"I am  _not_  safe." She argued, insulted.

"Oh, you are." Derek continued knowingly as he finally took a cookie. "Have you ever told your  _true_  feelings to any guy?"

"Of course I have." She scoffed.

"Fine. Like when?" He challenged.

"I've…" She started going through her past relationship Rolodex. Derek stayed silent as he kept looking at her expectantly. "There was this one time…" His eyebrows rose. "If you think about it, when I was with…" She stopped, as she realized that she never outright said 'I like you' unless it was accompanied by 'as a friend' at the end. There was Sam, but she wasn't really honest about her feelings during their relationship. And she acted completely different around Max. And the worst thing was, she couldn't think of anyone else.

"See?" Derek continued. "You're just as bad as I am."

She finally looked at him, only to pause when she realized that Derek…somehow…seemed to understand her. "So, what then? We are two people who can't come right out and say how we really feel? Because from what I heard, you love Sally." She hated the fact that she sounded so…angry. She wasn't. At least she had no reason to be.

Derek's gaze held hers as if he wanted to know what she thought about this whole thing. "She told you."

Shrugging, Casey looked back at the plate. "She was so happy, she just had to tell someone. Congratulations. You both love each other."

He smirked nostalgically. "Of course we are. Since we are teenagers, who obviously know everything there is to know about everything."

She eyed him curiously, his sarcastic tone jumping out at her. "So you don't love her?"

Dropping his gaze back to the comic book, he dismissed her. "Don't you have somebody else's life to ruin?"

Casey sat there for a second, dumbfounded. "Why did you tell her you love her if you don't?" He stayed silent as he turned a page. Then another. Then another. Finally, he looked up.

"You going, or what?"

She stayed still for a moment before standing up cautiously. "You must love Sally, otherwise you wouldn't have said it." He kept silent, his eyes boring holes in his comic book. "Unless.. it's a type of love, but not necessarily  _the_  love."

Huffing, he turned towards her. "You done?"

Shrugging, she headed towards the door. "Yeah, I'm done." She really shouldn't feel relieved or even elated. She likes Sally. If they were really in such a serious place in their relationship, she should support that.

"Oh, and Casey?" She stopped, her hand on the door knob. "Leave the cookies."

Snorting un-flatteringly, Casey raised a cocky eyebrow at him. "Not a chance. Get your own cookies." And feeling relatively happier, she left.


	58. Season 4 Episode 7 : In bringing in the School-year

"So..." Casey mumbled hesitantly as she played with her book bag that hung heavily on her shoulder. "You spoke to Sally yet?"

Derek barely glanced at her as he shrugged and locked his car, his feet automatically moving towards the school entrance. "Yup."

She huffed in annoyance as she followed him. "And?"

"And what?"

"And are you guys still together?"

He stopped suddenly, causing her to nearly bump into him. "I missed the part where this is  _your_  business," he eyed her warily.

"Well.. it's not. But..."

He started walking again. Sighing, she followed him.

"Derek..."

He moved faster at her insistent tone.

"Wait a sec." Giving up on the idea of a civil conversation Casey saw her opportunity and grabbed it, literally.

"Hey!" he protested as she pulled him away from prying eyes and towards the side of the building. "What gives?" he shrugged her hand off him.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You are  _obviously_ hurting over Sally leaving. I think you need to talk about it."

He stared at her incredulously for a second before he burst out laughing. "To  _you?_  Ha! Fat chance." He just managed to turn away from her before she grabbed his arm again.

"Look," her tone softened as she pleadingly met his eyes, "I know it can't possibly be easy to say goodbye to someone who you actually cared about, but-"

"Casey," his stern tone stopped her. "Even if I was somehow... upset... about this whole thing, why in the world would I want to talk to  _you_  about it?"

She couldn't help but be taken aback by his question. "Well... I..." He watched her intently, waiting for her answer. Not having one, she dropped his arm. "I don't know." Encouraged by his curious interest, she decided to try the honesty card. "I just.. want to help."

"Help." He eyed her intently, his voice strangely calm.

"Yes, help."

He grinned mockingly at her. "Are you expecting me to cry over her leaving or something? Girls come and go," he shrugged.

"Don't you miss her?" she questioned cautiously.

Derek eyed her warily, and for a minute, she really thought he was going to tell her the truth. "How can I miss the nagging? I've got you." With a rough slap to her shoulder, he turned to leave.

Casey barely managed to see his smirk fall as he turned the corner. With a sigh, she followed. Leave it to a Venturi to stay in denial.


	59. Season 4 Episode 8 : In hiding the Secrets

"What are you doing?"

Casey looked over her shoulder before she dived back under his bed. "Nothing."

"Uh huh," Derek mumbled conversationally as he sat down next to her on the floor. "I don't have your  _dream journal_ ," he mocked.

Huffing, she raised her head to eye him warily. "You and I both know that's a lie. You have it, and I want it back."

Letting out a low breath, Derek leaned back and crossed his arms. "Fine. Check my bedroom. But I warn you, you  _might_  not want to check the back of my closet."

Casey scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Ew." With a forlorn sigh, she leaned back onto her haunches and glared tiredly at her step-brother. "Where is it, Derek?"

"Hm.." he looked up mockingly. "How can I say this in a way you  _could_  understand? I. Don't. Have. Your. Journal."

"Who else would take it?"

He shrugged.

"Ugh." With a slight groan, she turned around and sat on the floor next to the bane of her existence. "I wish you would just stop lying to me."

"What makes you think I'm lying to you now?"

She looked up, her eyes meeting his curiously. " _Are_  you lying to me?"

He held her gaze. "No."

"Have you  _ever_  lied to me?"

"Yes."

"Like when?"

He shrugged. "Too many to count."

She couldn't help the slight quirk of her lips. "Tell me a lie now," she challenged as she turned fully towards him.

His eyes sparkled with humour as his lips twisted in a practiced smirk. "You look  _really_  pretty today."

Her grin widened. "Like Cinderella pretty, or Giselle pretty?"

"Quosimoto pretty."

"Aww. Be still my beating heart," she grinned dramatically.

Derek let out a low laugh. "Who else would ever tell you the truth?"

"You're right," Casey said in a tone of pained acceptance. "You're the only one."

They grinned stupidly at each other. It took them a moment for their grins to drop simultaneously as they were suddenly aware of how close they truly were. Needless to say, she panicked. "I better go check with Edwin," she mumbled, moving further away from him.

Derek nodded, his eyes focusing on something to the side. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't get out of there fast enough.


	60. Season 4 Episode 9 : In making it Work

Derek Venturi was no pervert. But what self-respecting warm-blooded male could not stop and look when a hot, pencil-skirt clad ass is bent over? His first thought was that this must be one of his Dad's secretaries helping out at home. She was rummaging through the refrigerator, which wasn't a new thing. His father is nothing if not welcoming. Taking a moment to run a hand through his messy hair, and to stuff his hands in his pockets in a Devil-may-care way, he leaned against the counter next to the refrigerator.

"Hey there," he grinned, putting as much Derek Venturi charm into those two little words. It took all his concentration not to stare at the woman's latter half, so as not to get caught when she does look up.

The woman stiffened. "Go away, Derek."

His smirk fell, his eyes going back to that gorgeous ass. How could he not have known who that belonged to? And why was his blood pumping faster at that very thought?

At his lack of a snappy comeback, Casey looked up from the refrigerator with a huff. "What do you want  _now_?"

He stared. This  _had_  to be a joke. "You're..."

"I know..." she sighed as she rubbed an arm across her forehead. Her hair was a mess, loose tendrils falling from her makeshift bun; there were grease marks across her face and neck; the top buttons of her shirt were undone to complete the look. All in all, Derek expected her to wink at him and say 'I'm  _so_  dirty. Will you help me get cleaned up?", in a soft, breathy voice.

"Um..."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You okay?"

He tried to snap out of the mental picture that was looping inside his head. "Yeah."

"What...a...day," she sighed. Casey reached back and undid her bun, shaking her head to let her chestnut waves fall loosely around her shoulders. She looked at him curiously when she noticed his barely hidden interest in her movements. "What?"

He found his eyes drawn to her cheek and neck. Standing up, Derek moved closer to her, his eyes never leaving her greased skin. They were so close that he felt her breath hitch against his own neck as he tangled his fingers in her hair lightly, to move the strands over her shoulder. His movement was slow, and she stayed unusually stiff against him. He fought the urge to touch the black marks; instead, he leaned forward so that his lips rested against her ear and his breath hit her skin warmly. "I always knew I was a better step-kid than you."

With a screech she shoved him away from her, ignoring his loud laughter. "De-rek. You're a freak, you know that?"

He held onto the kitchen counter, his laughter far from subsiding. "Hey! I'm not the one who can't photocopy."

With a glare, she grabbed a dishtowel and started rubbing at her neck and cheek furiously. "Just get out, before I decide to bring Bertha home to visit you."

"Fine, fine," he put his hands up in surrender. "I'm going." With a final chuckle, he turned to exit the kitchen.


	61. Season 4 Episode 10 : In playing the Game

"Ugh! I'm just so  _sick_  of Truman."

Emily nodded absentmindedly. "Uh huh."

"I mean, he is  _completely_  rude. He doesn't take what I say seriously. He doesn't respect me enough. He keeps treating me like some blonde bimbo who will do whatever he wants me to do."

"Uh huh."

Casey narrowed her eyes at her best friend. "And he came to class today wearing a pink tutu."

Emily continued to nod before the silence of her best friend caused her to look up. "What?" she asked cautiously when Casey gave her a reproachful look.

"Am I boring you?"

"What? No! It's just that," Emily mumbled sighing, "I've heard all of this before. Only the name was Derek and not Truman."

Casey was taken aback. "That's not true." Emily raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe a little true. But you can't compare the two. Derek is way better." Emily's eyes widened. "But I swear, if you tell _anyone_  I told you that, I'll deny it."

"Hold on," Emily seemed more interested now. "You're telling me that  _you_ , Casey McDonald, actually think that Derek Venturi is better when it comes to girls, than Truman?"

Casey shifted uncomfortably. "When you say it like that..."

"That's  _exactly_ how it sounds."

"Okay," Casey began in her best 'explanation' tone. "Derek is an idiot, but he is an idiot with a somewhat good heart. Truman on the other hand-"

"-is evil incarnate?"

"Exactly!" Casey beamed. "Derek  _used_  to be a devil until  _I_  came into his life and softened those rough edges."

Emily grinned. "You  _do_  realize that Derek would rather stuff you in a barrel than let you say those things, right?"

"Why do you think I say them, anyway?" Casey shrugged.

Emily nodded, before deciding to broach another subject carefully. "But you have to admit, you're intrigued."

"What do you mean?"

"Truman. You're spending the same amount of time talking about him, like you did when you first met Derek."

Casey raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "What are you trying to say?"

"I think you like him, Case."

Casey's jaw dropped, scandalized. "I... I don't...but that would mean... with Derek?" she sputtered. But before Emily could answer, Truman entered the cafeteria and started heading right for them. "This is not over," Casey hissed.

With a shrug, Emily turned to say 'hi' to Casey's new bane of existence.


	62. Season 4 Episode 11 : In meeting the Stepbrother

After saying goodnight to the rest of the family and promising to clean up, Casey followed Derek into the kitchen. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"Notice what?" he mumbled distractedly as he rummaged the cupboards for something to eat. That Mexican food wasn't settling well in his stomach.

"You changed the story."

He stopped opening a cupboard to look up. "I did?"

"Yup," she nodded knowingly as she slid onto a stool near the island. "But I'm happy you did. They don't need to know what happened."

"Um... what exactly happened?" he grabbed a packet of chips and took a seat opposite her.

"Oh, I don't know. You, me..." she looked at him meaningfully, "...a certain action that shows... affection?"

Glaring at her, he ripped open the bag. "See, if something like that happened, I would remember. But since it  _didn't_ ," he eyed her dangerously, "there's no reason to  _talk_  about it."

"Of course," Casey shrugged. "Because who would believe that  _the_  Derek Venturi actually-"

"Hey! We promised never to speak of that...incident...ever again," Derek hissed.

"Um.. Derek?" Casey whispered back. "We are the only ones here."

"Still..."

She rolled her eyes at his behaviour. "You're such a big baby."

"Right. Like you're better, Princess."

"Just admit it. On some deep, deep, deep,  _deep_  down level, we knew we could, maybe get along."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's  _really_  deep down."

"Maybe," Casey shrugged as she slid off the stool. "Still, I'm sure the kids would  _love_  to hear how Derek Venturi actually kissed my cheek," she said beaming widely.

Derek choked. "I was  _forced_  to."

"Sure," Casey mocked. "Especially since George only made you  _hug_  me. Don't worry, Derek. I won't tell  _anyone._ "

"It was a mistake."

"A slip of the lips?"

"Yeah, that was it  _exactly_ ," he said in a panic tone. "I went in for the hug and you moved your head-"

"You can say whatever you want, Venturi. But at the end of the day, I think you kind of like me." With a wink she strutted out of the kitchen. She couldn't help but giggle when she heard the scrunch of the bag of chips as Derek crushed the contents in anger.


	63. Season 4 Episode 12 : In dodging the Ralph

"Is it true?" Sam questioned as he shrugged on his bag.

"Is what true?"

"Casey and Ralph?"

Derek burst out laughing as he shrugged on his own. "Yeah. Crazy huh? Ralph and Casey! A match made in heaven."

Sam on the other hand, didn't seem to find it nearly as funny. "I heard you told him to go for it."

"Well, yeah. But I didn't think he was  _serious._ "

Sam didn't buy it. "How long have you known Ralph?"

Derek looked up thoughtfully. "Good point."

"I just don't get why you would tell him to go for it."

"What's so hard to understand?" he shrugged. "Ralph thought he liked Casey, but Casey didn't like Ralph. Both add up to one  _hilarious_  weekend."

"Yeah but.." Sam trailed off thoughtfully.

With a sigh, Derek looked at his best friend warily. "What gives?"

Sam cleared his throat. "I just don't get why you had a problem with me dating Casey, but you're okay with Ralph going out with her."

"This again?" Derek groaned. "That was like a million years ago. I'm pretty sure dinosaurs were roaming the earth. Besides, didn't I give you my blessing at the end?"

"But not at the beginning," Sam pointed out, causing Derek to roll is eyes in frustration. "Did you have a problem with me because Casey liked me? Because that's the only difference I can get from Ralph's situation and mine."

"Are you serious? You want to have this conversation  _now_?"

Sam nodded.

"Fine! Yes, I had a problem with my best friend dating my step-sister. It just makes things messy and tangly and a pain in the butt. Casey could never like Ralph, so I had no problem with nudging them a bit."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, what else is there?"

"I don't know. I remember thinking that maybe you were jealous."

Derek froze, his voice rising in panic. "What?"

"You know," Sam continued, not noticing the change. "Jealous that I was finally in a relationship."

Derek visibly relaxed. "My jealousy left me the day I saw Casey wearing a mud mask. Yuck."

Sam grinned. "You're evil, you know that?"

Derek shrugged. "I've heard rumours."

"What if Casey decided that she liked Ralph?"

He let out a loud bark of laughter. "I think the day  _that_  happens, hell would have frozen over, and Casey and I would be the best of friends."

Sam grinned. "Got it. Not happening."

"You know it," Derek nodded.


	64. Season 4 Episode 13 : In feeling the Fever

"Casey!" Grabbing her wrists, Derek wrenched her hands off her face. "You'll be fine."

Keeping her eyes screwed shut, she shook her head. "I can't do this," she mumbled. "What was I thinking? I can't do this."

Derek grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Open your eyes so you can see this hideous make up you made me wear."

Against her better judgment, she popped one eye open only to burst out laughing. "Oh my God."

"Yeah," he shrugged bemusedly. "And I'm still the hot one between the two of us."

Her laughter stopped as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not getting into this with a  _zombie._ And you need to tell me how Sadia did." She eyed him worriedly. "Were they better than us?"

Sighing, Derek scratched the back of his head. "Lets just say, that it's going to be a tight race."

Casey's face immediately scrunched up as she let out a small whine. "Why did I  _ever_  think we could do this?"

"Look, we'll be fine," Derek said in assurance, even as his step-sister gave him a skeptical look. "All we have to do is go out there and do slightly better than the rehearsal."

"Well, not exactly," Casey stated thoughtfully. "You really have to be more on the beat when we do the simultaneous turns. And you should also hit your lines sharper. And not to mention when you-"

"Oh, so it's all me now?" He scoffed. "Like you're so perfect."

She glared at him. "I know this is hard for you to believe, but I  _did_  do this a bit more longer than you, you know."

_Presenting a step-brother and sister act; Casey McDonald and Derek Venturi._

They looked at each other.

"This is it," Casey said excitedly as she started shaking her hands to rid the nerves.

"Yeah," Derek muttered as they moved towards the space between the curtains, waiting for their cue to get on stage.

Finding her step-brother oddly silent, Casey looked over her shoulder at him. "You'll be fine."

He scoffed again. "Of course I will. All I have to do is remember the hundred things you told me."

"Oh, um... There's one more thing," she muttered as her eyes swept the audience through the curtains.

"What?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Maybe this time, unlike our rehearsals, you could grab my waist instead of my..." She stopped, just as a blush crept up her neck.

"Your..."

She cleared her throat, her gaze staying firmly away from him. "My thigh."

Derek stayed still, surprised by what she just said. "Why?" he asked mockingly. "Does it make you  _uncomfortable_?" he drawled as he leaned towards her.

At that moment, the lights came on. Using this opportunity, Casey avoided his gaze and stepped onto the stage. Derek watched her as the music started and she started moving with practiced movements. He could have sworn he had seen fear in her eyes. But then it might have been a trick of the light. Shrugging it off, he waited for his cue.

The things he does for McDonalds.


	65. Season 4 Episode 14 : In getting rid of the Teddy

Casey sighed happily as she floated into the kitchen, a large grin on her face. "Don't you just  _love_  dates?"

Derek looked up from his busy job of making a sandwich to roll his eyes at her. "I'm sure it's a lovely concept to someone who usually spends her Friday nights with a book, but yeah, dating's great," he said mockingly.

His tone effectively burst her bubble, which caused her to glare at him. "Please, the last time I checked, sucking face with a cheerleader does  _not_  amount to dating."

Derek's lips split in a lecherous smirk. "You saw that, did you?"

"Ugh. I just wish I could un-see it." Smiling again, she moved around the island to get herself something to drink. "Too bad you aren't willing to get proper tips from Truman. I think I finally manged to get some gentlemanly quality out of him."

"Ha! Good luck with that." Derek laughed mockingly before grabbing his sandwich and making a move to leave the kitchen. "We both know you'll kick him to the curb at some point."

"Oh?" Casey asked more out of sheer curiousness. "And why would I do that?"

"Because he's a 'Teddy'," Derek said, shrugging like it was a 'no-brainer'. "And who wants a  _'Teddy'?"_ With a shudder at that very thought, he left; leaving his step-sister staring at him in surprise.


	66. Season 4 Episode 15 : In Awakening to the reality

"I give up!"

Derek whipped around to stare at his step-sister as she started collecting her things. "What? You're giving up? You can't give up!"

"Watch me," she said in a chirpy tone as she stood up from his bed. "You're playing a video game while we are supposed to be cramming for the biggest test of our  _lives_...so far."

Derek immediately turned off the computer and faced her. "See? It's no longer a distraction." She rolled her eyes, having heard this promise countless times before. "I'm serious this time."

"Really?" She questioned as she placed her hands on her hips. "Do you promise to pay attention  _now?_ "

He looked up thoughtfully. "Not that I'm complaining or anything..." He smiled sheepishly as she glared at him. "But the way you teach me doesn't really give me an... _incentive_  to study."

"How's this for incentive? If you fail, you will end up homeless and alone, and I will get to order you for the rest of my life."

"Hmm...yeeeeah.. that doesn't sound  _too_  bad. At least you'll feed me, right?"

Casey's eyes widened almost comically. "You see? This is why I can't tutor you. I have tried  _everything_? What do you want me to do? Flash you every time you get an answer right?"

The way his glance fell to her chest at that moment was totally coincidental. "Well..."

Her eyes widened further as her tone became deeply threatening. "Derek-"

"How about you make me a sandwich every time I get a set of questions right? That's incentive," Derek said quickly, cutting her off before she could embark on a rant to end all rants.

She eyed him suspiciously. "Fine. A sandwich it is." She sat back down on his bed primly. "And just so you know..." she said in an authoritative voice. "I will never flash you."

"Right." He grinned. "You keep telling yourself that."

The resulting glare she gave him was so worth him fake-playing-a-video-game just to annoy her.


	67. Season 4 Episode 16 : In not taking Chances

Derek groaned as he parked the car in front of their house. "Seriously, will you just stop crying already?"

Unbuckling her seat belt, Casey sniffled and threw a careless glare his way. "I'm sorry, but being cheated on is not how I like to spend my Saturday night." She got out the car gracelessly, slamming the door shut behind her.

Derek sighed as he got out of his own side. "We all told you the guy was scum, but you just wouldn't listen."

"Oh, I forgot," she called out sarcastically as she kept her back to him. "You and Truman understand each other. You two could be brothers."

Derek slammed the car door and made his way towards her. "Why do you always do that?"

His question caused her to face him, her sniffles pausing in surprise. "Do what?"

"Compare me with the jerks you date."

She stared at him in confusion. "I don't you compare you to them."

"Of course you don't." He mocked. "Derek, why can't you be like Sam? He's so sweet. Why can't you be like Max? He has aspirations. You and Truman are  _so_  alike." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I gotta say, that last one, not so true."

"Please," Casey scoffed. "You and Truman are cut from the same cloth. You are two peas in a pod. All you care about is sports and girls."

"Really? And that differs us from all the other guys, how?" Derek questioned seriously as he took a few steps forward to tower over her. "What Truman did today, I would never do."

"You were kissing some random girl you just met," she protested.

"I am  _single_." He moved even closer when her expression froze. "I have no girlfriend waiting for me to call her once I get home. I wasn't  _with_  my girlfriend at a party where I kissed a girl. That was Truman. Not me."

"I...I know that," Casey stammered, her eyes falling from his intense gaze.

"Then why are you determined to make it sound like I was the one who cheated on you?"

She stayed silent for a moment, her mind processing what he just said. "Because you would," she muttered softly, more to herself. She looked up to see her step-brother staring at her in surprise. "If I had been there with you, you would have kissed that girl anyway."

Derek shook his head in disbelief before he looked up as if asking for an answer from above. "Why do I even bother?" He took a deep breath before he grabbed her shoulders and made her face him. "Casey, believe it or not, if you  _were_  my girlfriend, I wouldn't even be looking at another girl, let alone kissing them. And if I do fall for a girl, I break up with the girl I am with, before I pursue her.  _You_  taught me that." He let her go with a tired sigh. "I thought you knew me better than that." He looked over her head towards the front door of their house. "Shall we go in then?" Without waiting for an answer, he started for the door; all the while aware of how her sniffles had increased as she followed him.


	68. Season 4 Episode 17 : In welcoming the Surprise

Casey poked her head out into the backyard and found her step-brother where she knew he would be; sitting on the back porch nursing a beer.

"You know you're underage, right?" Taking his silence as an invitation, she sat down beside him. "And George won't be happy that you got into his stash again."

Derek continued to drink his beer in silence, seemingly ignoring the persistent person sitting beside him.

"Would you like to talk about it? A new addition to the family is bound to change the family dynamic. Are you prepared for the little boy or girl who will be the connection between our families?" Derek sipped his beer in silence, and Casey huffed in annoyance before falling into a companionable silence beside him.

"Do you think," Derek began thoughtfully, surprising her, "the baby will have your eyes or mine?"

"Um.. I don't know," she said carefully, her glance rising to focus on the stars that littered the sky. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Casey, you're a lot of things. But a liar..."

She bit her lip thoughtfully before she turned her attention back to her companion. "I think he or she will have your hair, and my eyes."

He smirked at her, making her suddenly aware of exactly how close they were sitting. "What a combination."

"I know, right? Imagine if he inherited George's sense of chaos, and Mom's need for perfection."

He grinned. "The kid will be so confused."

Casey let out a light laugh before agreeing. "The poor thing."

It took a moment longer before their grins fell simultaneously.

"Look at us," Casey said as she smiled encouragingly. "We're actually having a decent conversation about the newest coming addition."

She expected him to make a scathing remark about her sensitivity, but instead, he shrugged. "What did you expect? Things will change."

"Well, yes," she mumbled carefully. "But for the better."

He looked at her critically then, his gaze penetrating. "You think so?"

Casey fought the urge to look away from him. "I do. What can be better than having something that connects us?" Her eyes widened at the same time he smirked. "I meant.."

"I know what you meant," he said mockingly. It was then that she realized that the humour didn't reach his eyes. "How about we toast to our coming brother?" He picked up another beer, opened the bottle cap and handed it to her.

"Or sister," Casey said automatically before taking the bottle from him without thought.

He raised his bottle in a mock salute, and even though it went against her own rules of social conduct, Casey clinked her bottle against his and took a sip. The liquid that went down her throat surprised her, causing her to sputter the instant it went down. And which in turn, caused Derek's grin to widen.

"You're such a lightweight," he said laughing.

"And you're a bad influence," she snapped back as she held her chest and hoped that her little chocking moment wouldn't kill her.

Derek just continued to laugh as he sipped his beer, occasionally looking at her and laughing harder when she glared at him. Finally, she found that she couldn't keep avoiding the issue.

"Aren't you at all upset with the thought of a baby?"

He stopped laughing to look at her seriously. "Are you upset?"

She could tell that his answer would depend on hers. "I am. A little."

"Why?"

She found this question ridiculous. He should know why. A baby was like the unknown. Something new. Something that could change... everything. "I don't know. I just am."

He shrugged. "That's not good enough."

"What are you talking about?"

With a heavy sigh, Derek turned towards her, effectively bringing him even more uncomfortably closer. "Are you upset because you will no longer be doted on as a Princess, or are you upset because the baby will change everything?"

Unknowingly, she leaned closer towards him. "What do you mean by everything?"

"I mean.." She leaned even closer, and didn't miss the movement when he cocked his head to the side slightly while his eyes fell to the silver necklace that hung around her throat. "Things will change between us."

His eyes finally met hers, and her breath caught. He was moving towards her, bringing himself even closer to her. Her eyelids began to droop seemingly of their own accord as did his. When she felt his hot breath on her lips as his face hovered over hers, every memory she ever had with him went through her mind. Especially the most important one.

"Emily." Her voice came out as tiny a puff of breath against his skin. He immediately froze and started to move back. "You're with Emily," she whispered shakily. "And I... I'm with Truman."She tried to meet his eyes with hers, but he looked away from her forcefully. "I should go." With weak legs, she stood up, determined to run back into her room and pretend that moment, whatever it was, never happened.

She got as far as opening the door, when she heard him say her name, and felt the pull of her arm as he turned her to face him. She barely had time to think as his lips captured hers and his arms pulled her flushed against his body. Maybe it was instinct, but she immediately responded, her hands immediately fisting themselves in his t-shirt. He kissed her forcefully, one hand at the back of her neck, while the other gripped her hip tightly. She had never been kissed so roughly before; with movements quick and clumsy, and hot, heavy breaths mingling gloriously against each other. Even when his tongue expertly sought entrance, she allowed it, kissing him back just as passionately as their tongues met again and again in a heated battle for dominance. She pulled him against her, her own hands roaming across his chest, his arms, his back; yearning to be closer. She had never wanted anything more, never felt this heat inside her that kept rising until she was sure she would burst with want and need.

Derek finally broke the kiss, while pushing himself away from her. They looked at each other, both wide eyed and breathless.

"This never happened," he said strongly. It would have been believable had his voice not been in a low, husky tone. He waited a while longer, waiting for her to protest, before turning on his heel and leaving, closing the door behind him as he did so.

Casey stared unseeingly at the spot where he stood before. There was no reason for him to say what he did. She would take this secret to the grave.


	69. Season 4 Episode 18 : In planning the Future

Derek finally managed to get out of the clutches of his family, when the one person he had been avoiding spending any alone time with, cornered him.

"So...I guess we're going to the same school then, huh?"

Derek eyed her warily as she stood before him, her arms crossed and ready for battle. "I guess we are."

"I think there is some business we have to take care of before we leave."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? And what pray tell would that be?"

She dropped her gaze from him, seemingly unsure with her proposals. "We have been living under the same roof for quite sometime now. We started out at enemies-"

"Still enemies," he piped in, earning a glare.

"And things have... happened between us." He shifted uncomfortably. "But now I think that it's time to make amends." She uncrossed her arms and stepped towards him, causing him to look at her in mild surprise and curiosity.

With a grand smile she held out her hand. "Friends?"

He looked down at her hand, then at her. "This means that what didn't happen, never happened, right?"

"Right," she said beaming. "This means that we will be civil and courteous in exchange for silence."

"Does this also mean silence when I try to hook up with a college chick?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Derek."

With a smirk, he took her hand firmly in his and shook it vigorously causing her to laugh. The laughter soon died down, and he felt her try to squirm her hand from his. He kept her hand within his grip for a while, before giving up and letting her fingers slide against his. She looked at him nervously, the hand he held twitching beside her.

"Right. So I guess we're..."

"Friends," he finished for her, although he was sure that there was no smile on his face.

"Right. Friends." She smiled warmly at him before heading towards her bedroom and shutting the door after her.

He stared at the worn poster of 'Swan Lake' for a moment longer before the need to distract himself overwhelmed him. Maybe he could look over the Queens course catalogue. There are bound to be classes where there are enough girls who are willing to be his distraction for the coming year.


End file.
